Worcestershire | Archive | 2003 | November | 07
From the archive, first published Friday 7th Nov 2003.
DRINKS will be on the house at a Hanley Swan pub when it is officially opened under new management tomorrow even-ing (Saturday).
The Swan closed in August but has recently been taken over by Caroline and Alan Sutton, who used to own the village stores.
The pub had been criticised in the recently published parish plan, which said it was `detrimental to the village' but the couple say that, under their management, things are going to change.
Mrs Sutton said: "We know the area and the people already and the kind of thing that people want to see. We are going to put the pub back at the heart of the village."
An event is planned for tomorrow to celebrate the opening. Each visitor will receive a complementary drink and Mr and Mrs Sutton plan to have a small bonfire.
They will also outline their plans for the future of the pub, which include serving meals using local produce. They are inviting villagers to contribute their suggestions.
It has been a busy period for Mrs Sutton, who has just returned from a charity trek in Morocco.
She joined 24 other volunteers, including fellow Hanley Swan residents Chrissie Bermand, Hilary Fowler and Anna Streather, deputy head of Upton CE Primary School, for the trek up Mount Toubkal.
The party was unable to reach the mountain's 4,167- metre summit due to bad weather, but got as far as 4,020 metres before returning.
So far, £22,000 has been raised by the group for the Acorns charity.
Mrs Sutton said: "It was a great experience but much tougher than we expected. It really was a huge challenge but a very exciting one."
© Newsquest Media Group 2008