I’m not sure I’ve given a proper update about our pub, the Dolphin. When I say “our” I mean the local we go to in our little village of Uphill. To be honest, much as we love the Dolph, and important as it has been in our lives over many years for us as a couple since 1990, and for me going back ten years before that, our dear old pub has begun to look rather tired, and a little tatty. Always with wonderful staff (except for a brief and unfortunate intermission) always clean and with fine ales of different brews on offer plus the usual wines spirits and soft drinks, and of course the weekly quiz (which deserves a paragraph to its self) plus punters of all ages, backgrounds and characters. It is probably over 250 years old, and although it’s been changed, updated, restyled, redecorated many times we have to admit it did need quite a major refurbishment.
So we knew things might be different while these refurbishments were going to take place, rumours of all sorts were flying, there was going to be a change of personnel too – but to be frank, we were shocked, yes, shocked, when it closed!!! What were we going to do? Where were we going to go of an evening when we fancied a little outing? And what about the quiz? What about the quiz??? I need to explain about the quiz (in case you’ve not read any of my many posts about it) The quiz has happened in the pub for donkey’s years now, with various quiz masters/mistresses, in various forms, and through it our lives have changed. I guess you might think that’s ridiculous. Let me give you some examples. Folk night and an abandoned drum kit led my husband to join in with local musicians and singers, and we made many friends and because we now had pub friends we started going to quiz night – which meant we made more friends. Some of the friends were in the local amateur dramatic group, so whenever they put on a show (which they do three times a year) we go along which is always great fun.
So – getting over myself for being dramatic, when the pub re-opens, with new people running it, we know it will have been renovated and redecorated, and we guess many of the previous regulars will return – or so we hope, but rumours have been spreading that it may become a gastro-pub, and other significant changes. Well, we will see, maybe the spirit of the Dolphin will triumph and it will be the same friendly and intersting place which we can amble down to a couple of nights a week, and with any luck – do a quiz!
Lois Elsden 