ALL ABOARD FOR PPPG’S 10th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION!

Elvis Presley joined PPPG members on their 10th anniversary celebration - the group’s best social gathering yet!
PPPG was formed in 1996 and it was decided that something extra-special should be arranged to mark the group’s achievements in its tenth year of operation. Due in no small part to the efforts of Webmaster Gary Tudor and Social Secretary Craig Bridgwood, this gala day took place on Sunday, 11th March 2007. It saw the Potteries Pub Preservation Group and the Potteries Omnibus Preservation Society (two local groups with unpronounceable names) linking up in order to reward members’ hard work over the last ten years or so.
POPS provided a double-decker vintage PMT bus for a vehicle-driven crawl around North Staffordshire pubs. The red-and-cream bus on hire had originally been built as a single-decker in 1949 but its top deck was added in 1954.
The "Sentinel" sent a photographer to take pictures of the group’s departure from the Bull’s Head in Burslem. Around 27 PPPG members and friends gathered alongside the bus and outside the "Bull’s Head" for the photographer - including Bill Bridgwood attired as Elvis Presley and Mervyn Edwards (PPPG Spokesman) as Mr. Beer - now a familiar sight at local festivals. Among others present were CAMRA members Ken Lee and Peter and Michelle Hancock, Pat and Derek Barnard from Market Place Miniatures in Burslem and Amanda Bromley, the director of Jellifish Internet Services in Burslem.
The "Bull’s Head" had opened up early for the group, and many members enjoyed a quick tonsil-tickler there prior to boarding the bus which departed on time en route to Wolstanton. Mervyn Edwards could not resist his instincts and immediately led the lower deck in singing "Summer Holiday", Elvis showing no reluctance to singing one of his rival’s most famous hits. The party alighted on Church Lane and spent about 35 minutes at the "New Smithy". The locals must have been quite shocked at the sight of a large vintage bus disgorging nearly thirty passengers including Elvis Presley and a large brown beer bottle. However, the party was made very welcome, as it would be in all the pubs during the course of the day.
Next stop was the "Bush" in Silverdale, then the "Beehive" (Penkhull) and afterwards the "Congress" in Longton. The ale had certainly loosened everyone up by the time members reached the "Coachmakers Arms" (Hanley). Nigel Coulton sat down at the piano in the back room with Elvis/Bill. The pair had found a book of sheet music from somewhere, and Nigel, who knows next to nothing about rock and roll, gamely played a number of classics (albeit at a very "un-rock and roll" tempo) for Bill and the others. PPPG members sang lustily as Nigel tickled the ivories. The whole effect was extremely comical; here was a respected academic playing songs he had barely heard of (and probably didn’t even like) for an Elvis impersonator, a bloke in a beer bottle suit and a room of pleasantly inebriated preservationists. It might have been a scene from an Alan Bleasdale play. Our terminus was the "Bull’s Head", where buffet food had been arranged.
Thanks to all the landlords concerned - but most of all, thanks to members for their involvement over the years. As Elvis might say, there would not be a PPPG without The Wonder of You!