Bentley Community Pub wins Age UK Award

Some of our older volunteers at the pub with the award. L-R: Jenny Lingard, Annie Owen, Diane Clover, Dave Lingard, Jackie Tiller, Pat Keenan, Ted Poole, Chris & Gill Pink and Peter Cross

Bentley Community Pub have won another award to add to our collection. The Usherwood Award, Inspiring Age 2015, has been awarded to all our older volunteers by Age UK Suffolk.

The award trophy, now proudly on display behind the bar.

The award was presented at the Age UK Suffolk AGM in Kesgrave on Wednesday 11 November. There to collect the award were Ted Poole, Jackie Tiller and Jenny Lingard, who were chosen to represent the pub via a poll of all our regular volunteers.

This award recognises that older people have been at the very heart of our journey to save the Case is Altered and restore it as a hub of the village. They serve on the committee, provided expert advice during the initial difficult period of buying the pub, and now with ongoing matters, and rolled their sleeves up to help renovate the pub when we bought it. Nowadays our volunteer teams, who do all the gardening, maintenance and most of the bar work, consist of many stalwart older people.

Without our amazing senior citizens, Bentley would not have a pub today. We extend our congratulations and heartfelt thanks to every one of them.

One of our older citizens gave us a brilliant quote: “Before we rescued the pub, the village was in black and white – now it’s in colour!”