Pub of the Year 2008. We will be voting for our Pub of the Year 2008 at the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 16th April. You can send in nominations now via our Branch Contact. So far the nominations are: the Crescent in Salford; the Marble Arch in Manchester; and the New Oxford in Salford. Nominated pubs have to be in our branch area (Northern Quarter of Manchester; North Manchester; Salford City and District); have at least one decent real ale on at all times; and have a certain "special something" that gives the pub a chance for the Greater Manchester Regional Pub of the Year award.

The inaugural Neil Richardson Trophy has been awarded to the Stanley Arms on Liverpool Road in Patricroft for a fine example of a traditional unspoilt pub. The picture below shows Sue Richardson (left) presenting the inaugural plaque to landlady Linda Nicholls.

These days, examples of traditional multi-roomed pubs are getting scarcer year after year. This is a new award in its first year and is in memory of Neil Richardson, local publisher and editor of What's Doing, which was the longest running CAMRA branch magazine, appearing monthly for 30 years.

Neil died after a short illness in August 2006, aged 58. He continues to be widely known for his contribution to the history of Salford pubs and throughout the region, and for his wider contribution to local history. As publisher and printer he gave many people their first chance to see and sell their memories and work in print.

The Stanley Arms is of course featured in the current Good Beer Guide. It is a traditional street corner pub, tenanted and tied to Holt's brewery estate, serving quality Holt bitter and mild. The original front door on the street corner itself is now out of use but the side entrance takes you into an otherwise largely unchanged multi-roomed pub, with a tap room and bar to the right and a "best room" or parlour to the left. The biggest change that a drinker from a hundred years ago would notice is one that's very much for the better - the private room at the back of the pub is now open to the public, increasing the space for drinkers. It features a cast iron cooking range.

Sue (left) presenting Linda with the new plaque

Meanwhile, issue 4 of our new magazine, the Drinker's Alemanac is in many of our local pubs now, and it's FREE!.

The Drinker's Alemanac appears every other month. Its Editor is our Branch Chairman, Steve Smith. He will be glad to receive articles and photographs for publication via this website.

If you want to make certain of seeing every issue, you can send us a cheque (or a postal order - do they still sell postal orders?) made payable to "CAMRA North Manchester". The address to write to is: Roger Hall, 123 Hill Lane, Blackley, Manchester M9 2DW.

Have you joined our Branch Yahoo! Group yet? Anyone can read the messages posted there, but you need to sign up as a member, and have a Yahoo! ID, to post messages or access other areas of the site.