1st November 2006

Small pub – big heart

The Red Lion, Chipping Norton might be a small intimate pub, but it has a big heart. For its customers do much more than raise thousands of pounds for local charities every year - they have provided the motivation for many to work tirelessly on behalf of the local community. The Red’s licensee Bec Ridgway says her customers are wonderful people who really care for their local community.

A former licensee of the Red, Ken Howes, was the inspiration for GP Jonathan Moore to set up the Lawrence Home Nursing Team, which provides home care for terminally ill patients living in Chipping Norton. And today Red Lion generous customers organise many events to raise money for the charity, which needs £5,000 a month to keep afloat. The pub is home to Chippy’s Giant Vegetable Competition, now in its fourth year it raised more than £550 for the charity – bringing the total amount raised for the LHNT to more than £2,000 this year.

Other fund raising events include an annual 24 hours darts marathon, coffee mornings and a three-legged race. And in the last 12 months the pub has raised £3,000 for Katherine House hospice and £300 for MS. Licensee Bec Ridgway said: “My customers really care about their community and their neighbours. They are wonderful people.