Prince Charles pays rural tribute

The Prince of Wales stressed the importance of community pubs coming up with novel ways to attract new business, during a visit to St Austell Brewery earlier this month.

As he enjoyed a pint of Tribute ale, brewed by the Cornish brewers to mark the company's150th anniversary, Prince Charles talked about the importance of pubs to the community. He urged licensees to continue diversifying the range of services they offer to attract new trade.

St Austell's head brewer Roger Ryman and managing director James Staughton accompanied Prince Charles on a tour during which he started a brew of Tribute ale and enjoyed a taste of the finished product.

Mr Staughton said: "What the prince seemed particularly impressed with was the continuity of employees and the fact that we are still very much a family firm. We have many employees who have been here for 25 or 30 years and often their parents worked here before them."

Mr Ryman added that the prince, who is also Duke of Cornwall, was interested in the fact that the company is looking to source its barley from Cornwall and has adopted the Cornish colours of black and gold to reflect the pride the brewery has in its roots.

Meanwhile, on the back of the prince's message to community pubs, a bar in Torquay is now offering free internet access and text messages to customers.

Jason Blatch, licensee of the Hot Rock and Blues Bar, said: "We consider the statement by Prince Charles to be apt in rediscovering the potential of community pubs even if they are not in the rural areas but serve a town market."