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With England's national day less than 10 weeks away, pubs need to start planning now to make the most of 23 April Backed once again by Wells &...

With England's national day less than 10 weeks away, pubs need to start planning now to make the most of 23 April

Backed once again by Wells & Young's Bombardier, along with the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), this year's MA campaign to make St George's Day a national holiday to remember is back and bigger than ever.

In the weeks leading up to 23 April, we will be offering a series of pointers to help you maximise what you can do on the day. But it's not just about the day itself - this year's focus is on how pubs can help build stronger links with their locals through ongoing charity work.

As part of this, the BBPA wants licensees to use St George's Day to hold fundraising events to help the national paralympic team, Para-lympicsGB, raise the £1.4m necessary to attend the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

There are lots of fun ways that you can use St George's Day to raise money for ParalympicsGB - see box far right for a few suggestions and handy tips.

The road to Beijing

If you wish, all money raised by your pub can form part of the British Paralympic Association's (BPA) Road to Beijing Appeal, where money raised appears on a virtual map on the BPA's website.

This means that you can upload photos or even videos of your fundraising efforts onto the map, so you and your customers can enjoy your five minutes of fame.

Take a look at www.paralympics.org.uk/roadtobeijing for more information.

Case study

Lorraine Evison

The Beehive, Deanshanger, Milton Keynes

As licensee of Charles Wells pub the Beehive, Lorraine Evison can't recommend St George's Day enough. "It's become one of the busiest days of the year for us," she says. "It started off as a bit of fun, and it's really taken off. We have such a laugh and the customers love it."

Evison has been at the pub in Deanshanger, Milton Keynes,

since 2004 and has always held a very traditional St George's Day event. "We have traditional pub games like piggy-back races, three-legged races, shove ha'penny, bingo, darts competitions and eating games. We also have a yard of ale for the men and a miniature one

for the ladies.

"We decorate the pub in Wells Bombardier flags and bunting.

I always put Bombardier on special offer and the sales go through

the roof. Everyone wants to celebrate with the 'Drink of England'.

And as it's a special occasion, I also have traditional English food

like a pig roast."

Evison makes sure that her St George's Day events involve the whole family, so there are lots of games and competitions for children on the green outside the pub. "We don't charge for people to come and I make sure there are lots of competition prizes. I think the whole village usually turns up for St George's Day."

This year, Evison will continue with the traditional games and

competitions, but she will also have some entertainment. "We have hired a singer to get everyone in the patriotic mood with typical

English songs like Roll Out the Barrel.

"We've been really lucky and always had really good weather, so I'm sure that this year the whole village will be out celebrating St George's Day, dressed in red and white, with their pints of Wells Bombardier."

Abbot Ale celebrates with St George

Greene King is celebrating England's national day with Abbot Ale, the brewer's flagship cask ale.

Last year Abbot Ale offered licensees the chance to host an unforgettable party and this year it's adding even more style to St George's Day toasts in pubs across the country by offering premium branded tankards to everyone who buys six pints of the beer.

Greene King Brewing Company marketing director Fiona Hope says: "Abbot Ale has for a long time stood for the pinnacle of brewing excellence and we want to help pubs across England have truly excellent celebrations, with their customers raising their pints in style.

"Monks started brewing in

Bury St Edmunds in 1086. The brewing perfection achieved by Abbot Ale, using these time-honoured techniques, makes it

the English beer to celebrate

with on 23 April."

The promotion will help licensees to drive sales and introduce new drinkers to one of the country's best-selling cask ales. Pubs involved will be provided with PoS material to promote the exclusive offer.

How I would toast St George

Cricketer Phil Tufnell

"I first tasted JW Lees Bitter during the brewer's sponsored charity cricket event last June and I was instantly a fan. This tasty bitter makes a refreshing accompaniment to a great summer's day of sports. It's definitely a favourite British beer of mine; I always make sure that I get a pint in every time I'm in the north-west and I would be proud to raise a pint of JW Lees Bitter this St George's Day."

A to Z of pub fundraising ideas

A Arm-wrestling competition, auction

B Balloon race, BBQ, band night, beard shave

C Cheese-and-wine night, celebrity-chef event, calendar

D Darts competition

E Eighties disco night

F Fancy-dress party, five-a-side table football competition

G Greek night, guess the baby/name etc

H How many can get into a...

I Indoor games, It's a Knockout, Italian night

J Jazz evening, jumble sale, Jenga contest

K Karaoke night, knobbly-knees contest