60 at 60 – Mayor of Worcester to celebrate city’s historic pubs

The Mayor of Worcester, Councillor Adrian Gregson, launching his Mayor-ale trail with Catherine Verman, landlord of The Plough in Fish Street, a Grade II Listed building that is one of Worcester’s oldest traditional pubs.

The Mayor of Worcester is marking his 60th birthday by visiting 60 of the city’s historic pubs, to highlight the central role they play in their communities.

Councillor Adrian Gregson will also use his three-month “Mayor-ale trail” to highlight his charity appeal in aid of two local community organisations, and encourage donations to them.

Cllr Gregson said: “Traditional pubs and taverns are at the heart of our city’s history and community, providing a meeting place and hub for socialising for hundreds of years.

“Pubs are of enormous importance to our communities and are about far more than simply having a drink. They are places to make friends, to chat through whatever’s on your mind, and to play games and sports, like darts and skittles. They also act as venues for music, arts and entertainment, supporting the many talented performers we have in our city.

“The pandemic and now the cost-of-living crisis have hit our traditional pubs really hard, so I want to spend part of my remaining three months in office on a Mayor-ale trail to highlight the great work they do and how important they are for so many Worcester people. I turn 60 this year, so it feels appropriate to turn the spotlight on 60 city pubs.

“I’ll also be taking the opportunity to encourage customers at the pubs I visit to consider donating to my Mayoral appeal, which is supporting two other organisations that are vital to our city’s communities – Onside Advocacy, which supports vulnerable people, and Severn Arts, who work to bring high quality music and arts to Worcester.

“I won’t be collecting when I’m in the pubs, but I will be encouraging people to support my appeal by searching online for Just Giving Mayor of Worcester.”

The Mayor-ale trail will start this week and continue until Cllr Gregson surrenders the chain of office in mid-May. In that time he’ll be dropping in on pubs including The Plough in Fish Street, the New Chequers in Astwood Road, the Dragon Inn at The Tything, the Oak Apple in Spetchley Road and many others across the city.

The Mayor will be providing updates on his visits, including announcing which pubs he’ll be in on which dates, on his Twitter feed at @WorcesterMayor.

He will be using his own money to pay for any drinks that he purchases on his visits.

Donations to the Mayor’s appeal can be made at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mayorofworcesteruk.