Turning customers into friends
Cock Inn, Gamlingay, Bedfordshire
Roger and Tina Collins will miss the local people when they leave the Cock Inn later this year. 'We decided to give up our 100-hour weeks because I had some heart problems earlier this year, and after nearly 20 years in the business, we decided it was time, explains Roger.
More than half of the Collins' pub stint was spent at the Greene King-tenanted pub in Bedfordshire and during that time they helped raise £30,000 for the East Anglia Children's Hospice in nearby Milton. Regular charity events include turning the car park into a village fete in the summer and a Christmas market in the winter.
Every year the Cock Inn has a special fund-raising day and this summer locals enjoyed a family fun day, with rides for the children at special low prices so they could take lots of turns. The event raised £1,500 for the hospice.
Roger says: 'A lot of these people aren't customers anymore, they've become friends. We'll still come back and help any way we can.
The pub also plays host to a local celebrity. Sadie, the travelling log, has toured Europe with a US rock band and cruised on the QE2. The lump of wood with a painted face often accompanies regulars on their holidays and even has 'her own passport.
Last month local residents, who supported Roger and Tina with all the charity work, joined the couple for a special 'thank you barbecue.
'We'll miss the people, we've got a fantastic bunch. We see a lot of people leave the area and then move back, saying 'it's the pub that sold us the house', Roger adds.
