Balloons & Party World
Yately Mummers
The following are items that previously appeared on the HOME page of our website and are listed here for your interest.
Congratulations to Hadrian and Jillie on the birth of their son Oscar Peter Joseph Stross. Born at 3.50 am on Saturday 27th October and weighing in at a healthy 6lb 10 oz. Mother and baby are doing fine but Dad needs some sleep.
Morning Advertiser Fund Raising Pub of The Year -
Meridian Region 2006
This prestigious award was won by The Plough last year (2006). The Morning
Advertiser had
this to say about The Plough: "Judges admired Hadrian Stross and
Jillie Dean for making fundraising a cornerstone of the business at the Plough,
which has also helped put the Punch-owned outlet back on the local map".
"Hadrian and Jillie took on the unloved pub a year ago and have turned it into
one that now attracts lots of people - and generous people at that. Two bank-holiday fun
days raised a combined £3000 for local charities, after the couple tested the
water by holding charity race nights".
"Jillie says "fundraising is hard work, but worth it". She adds: "It's rewarding because you're giving something back to the local community". The picture above shows Jillie and Hadrian together with friends Ian and Jo attending the awards ceremony at The Tower Hotel London earlier in February.
The Morning Advertiser went on to say:
Charity
fundraising has become a cornerstone of the business at the Plough since it was
taken on by Hadrian Stross and Jillie Dean a year ago. Two bank holiday fun days
have raised a total of £3,000 for local charities and also helped put the
Punch-owned outlet on the local map.
Situated amid the silver birches of the picturesque. Horsell Common, the pub had
become unloved under its previous ownership. "When the fun day got in the local
press, people realised it was under new management," says Hadrian.
Turnover has virtually tripled since then, with the fun days helping to bring
people in and make them feel part of the family at the pub.
Fundraising activity started with a few race nights and grew to the fun days,
which include raffles, auctions, tug-of-war, three-legged races, live music,
face painting and a beachwear disco.
The first fun day raised £2,000 for the Princess Alice Hospice, which had looked
after Jillie's parents. She says: "It was a case of giving something back:'
For the second day, regulars nominated the nearby Woking Community Hospital,
which benefited by £1,000. Jillie says: "We wanted to do that to keep it in the
community and to make it personal to our customers:'
To get hold of desirables for the raffles and auctions, Hadrian and Julie sat
down and wrote 150 letters to local businesses.
Says Hadrian: "We have a regular couple who spend a lot of money in the
auctions, and they make sure the prices keep going up."
In addition to the big events, there's a weekly darts competition with a £2
entry fee and the winner taking the pot. Luckily, the club has a hotshot local
darts player who always wins and puts his prize money in the charity box.
Jillie says: "The fun days are very well attended and for the last one in August
we were shattered by the end of it. But it was fantastic and is something that's
really well worth doing. It's rewarding because you're giving something back to
the local community."
The Plough also featured as one of the 14 finalists for Champion Pub of The
Year.
The Plough's primary supported charity this year is the White Lodge Centre based not far away in Chertsey. The White Lodge Centre provides support for disabled children and adults and their families or carers in Surrey and the surrounding areas. Already this year the clientele of The Plough have raised over £440 for this worthwhile local charity and it's only the middle of February.
Woking Pub in Bloom Winner 2005
Last year also saw The Plough awarded
the Woking Review trophy for Best Floral Public House at a presentation evening
for
Woking in
Bloom for the first time. The picture on the
left shows Jillie and Hadrian receiving their award from the Mayor of Woking
Cllr Ian Johnson This award was made possible by the superb efforts of
one of the pub's locals Rex Purcell. Rex is one of the Plough's longest serving
customers, having been a regular at the Plough for some 53 years. He tells us he
first began drinking there in 1953 and has been a regular loyal customer ever
since. Some of Rex's efforts can be seen in the
picture above at the front entrance to the pub or on our
Today &
Yesterday page.
This annual event attracted 70 applications in 10 categories. The Woking Review had this to say: "There were colourful entries from a number of pubs in the borough but the public house trophy, sponsored by the Review was awarded to The Plough in Cheapside Horsell. Plough landlord Hadrian Stross said: 'We had a retired chap called Rex Purcell create our troughs and hanging baskets this year.' The judges were really impressed with what he had done as he had devised his own watering system."
