Council helps pubs launch seniors club
A council has launched a scheme to help pubs in its county set up lunch clubs for senior citizens.
Nottinghamshire County Council is working with three pubs initially to help set up lunch clubs, which offer reasonably-priced meals at £5 to £6 per head for a main course, dessert and tea or coffee.
The council is providing licensees with marketing materials, such as posters and leaflets, which include pictures of the pub and the menu on offer at each.
The council has invested £500 between the three pubs in promoting the initiative.
Deborah Badcock, licensee of Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company leasehold the Black Lion at Radcliffe-on-Trent, is running the lunch club every week.
She said: "They are going really well. The customers are loving it and we are very optimistic about its success. We are planning to offer bingo, and show musicals at the clubs too."
The Plough Inn at Hickling, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, attracted 20 people to its first event.
It is hosting a lunch club on the first Tuesday of every month. The menu focuses on dishes such as bangers & mash; fish & chips; faggots & red onion gravy; fruit crumble & custard; and jam roly-poly.
Sharon Booth, joint licensee of Everards pub the Unicorn's Head in Langar,
Nottinghamshire, said: "The club is a great way of getting older people out and about. We sit them together in groups of six to eight so they can all have a chat and get to know each other."
A council spokesman said: "The hope is that the project can be rolled out countywide, bringing benefits to pubs, older people and communities in general during these challenging times."
