Latest news with #CharlotteToller
New Statesman
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
This England: Great pub-licity
A university student on a quest to find the best Wetherspoons in the UK plans to visit all 800 pubs by the age of 30. Charlotte Toller, who is 20 and based in Bromley, is judging each establishment on criteria including cost and appearance, as well as how far away the toilets are from the bar and the quality of the carpet. Toller is studying journalism at the University of Roehampton. Bromley News Shopper (Benjamin Chase) Fits the bill A man is walking 53 miles in a homemade bird costume to raise awareness and funds for conservation projects. Matt Trevelyan, a farming officer for Nidderdale National Landscape, crafted the 10ft-long costume of a Eurasian curlew – Europe's largest wading bird – out of polystyrene and bamboo. Mr Trevelyan said: 'Those who know me well know I was eventually going to build a giant curlew. She's a real beauty. I wanted to represent curlews well because they're such a beautiful bird.' BBC Yorkshire (Mark Ireson) Ninety-nine problems Plans to prohibit ice cream vans next to Greenwich Park have prompted a councillor to state that the local authority is not 'anti-ice-cream'. Greenwich Council's cabinet suggested that King William Walk be designated as a prohibited street for itinerant lolly trading. However, ice cream van operator Paul St Hilaire Sr successfully challenged the decision in court on the basis that the council's decision was not legally sound. BBC (Kate McIntosh) [See also: Inside the Chaotic Map of Doom] Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Related
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bromley pub superfan aims to visit all 800 Wetherspoons in the UK by age 30
A university student on a quest to find the best Wetherspoons in the UK plans to visit and rank all 800 pubs by the age of 30. Charlotte Toller, who is 20 and based in Bromley, is judging each establishment on criteria including cost and appearance, as well as how far away the toilets are from the bar, the quality of the carpet and general atmosphere. She came up with the quirky idea alongside her boyfriend Finn Hutchinson, also 20, when they were enjoying a few drinks at The Richmal Crompton, their local Wetherspoon pub, or 'Spoons' as it is more colloquially known, in September of last year. Miss Toller is yet to review her local Spoons but started her quest by reviewing The Cordwainer, in Northampton, that same month. Charlotte Toller (left) and Finn Hutchinson. (Image: Charlotte Toller /PA Wire) 'We realised that on the Wetherspoons app you can tick off all the ones you've been to and we thought, wouldn't it be cool if we could just tick all of them off?' Miss Toller told the PA news agency. There are 800 Spoons, according to the pub company, so Miss Toller, who is studying journalism at the University of Roehampton and also works part time in a pub in her local area, said finding the time to undertake the project has been a challenge in itself. However, she has set herself the target of visiting all Spoons by the time she is 30 and has been documenting each visit on TikTok under the handle @charlsaurus, where thousands of people have become engrossed in her thoughts on the 13 pubs she has rated so far. Undated handout screengrab taken from a TikTok video showing the ranking for the Peter Cushing pub in Whistable, Kent. (Image: @charlsaurus/TikTok/PA Wire) In order to pit the pubs against each other fairly, she orders the same drink – an Absolut Vanilla vodka and Pepsi. 'I find it crazy how you can order a drink and the price can be double or triple what you would pay in certain parts of the country,' she said. It seems deciding on a winner will not be a simple task with both The Peter Cushing in Whitstable and The Rockingham Arms in Elephant and Castle both receiving a score of 8.5 out of 10. 'I have to be biased – my favourite one is The Peter Cushing in Whitstable, it's very nice and my grandparents have a house in the area,' Miss Toller said. Charlotte Toller (Image: Charlotte Toller /PA Wire) Posting to TikTok, Miss Toller said The Peter Cushing also impressed with its clean carpet and beer garden, with points deducted because of the distance between the toilets and the bar. She said the look of the carpets in each Spoons features in her ranking system because she received a comment on one of her videos saying there are different carpets in each establishment, which she said has been true so far. On the carpet in The Rockingham Arms, Miss Toller said: 'It's not pretty but it's not ugly.' The pub ramped up its score because of its 'great' location as well as the affordability of her drink of choice by central London standards, which came in at £4.16. She added: 'What I have noticed is the airport (Spoons) don't have carpets so I always mention that in the videos.' Despite no longer being a contender for the crown, Miss Toller gave kudos to the Swan & Castle in Oxford for its well thought out carpet choice, which has swans and castles on it. On the other side of the scale, Miss Toller gave The Four Candles in Oxford a mere three out of 10 as it was hard to find a table and when she did, it was dirty and her beverage had 'no fruit'. Undated handout screengrab taken from a TikTok video showing The Four Candles, which has been ranked the lowest so far. (Image: @charlsaurus/TikTok/PA Wire) The most Spoons she has visited in a day is six, in London, and she tends to fit in a pub visit, often with her boyfriend or friends in tow, if she happens to be travelling to a location where one exists. 'Sometimes people comment and I remember someone commented there is one in Nottingham, and I have a friend who lives there and was planning on visiting her so we went to the Spoons,' she added. 'Some people have also commented saying they are going to do something similar, which is great.' Her most viewed video so far has been on her trip to The Swan & Castle which has been viewed by more than 350,000 people. 'I did not think I would ever go viral, I just wanted to have a bit of fun,' she said. She said she feels Spoons has captured the adoration of many in the UK, especially Gen Z, as it is always there if you need a drink or venue to have a catch-up with a friend. 'I first went to a Spoons when I was 18 and everyone is counting down until they're 18 so they can go to a Spoons and I think it's because it's fairly cheap, it's a good place to go with your friends to play games or just have a chat,' she said. 'Even now, all my friends are off at university and we still all come back and meet at our local Spoons in the holidays.'
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Student on quest to visit all 800 Wetherspoon pubs and ranks each one
A university student on a quest to find the best Wetherspoons in the UK plans to visit and rank all 800 pubs by the age of 30. Charlotte Toller, who is 20 and based in Bromley, Greater London, is judging each establishment on criteria including cost and appearance, as well as how far away the toilets are from the bar, the quality of the carpet and general atmosphere. She came up with the quirky idea alongside her boyfriend Finn Hutchinson, also 20, when they were enjoying a few drinks at The Richmal Crompton, their local Wetherspoon pub, or 'Spoons' as it is more colloquially known, in September of last year. Miss Toller is yet to review her local Spoons but started her quest by reviewing The Cordwainer, in Northampton, that same month. 'We realised that on the Wetherspoons app you can tick off all the ones you've been to and we thought, wouldn't it be cool if we could just tick all of them off?' Miss Toller told the PA news agency. There are 800 Spoons, according to the pub company, so Miss Toller, who is studying journalism at the University of Roehampton and also works part time in a pub in her local area, said finding the time to undertake the project has been a challenge in itself. READ MORE: The 'secret' London Underground station that wasn't on the map 18 years because of who used it READ MORE: Man fighting for his life after brutal Streatham park attack in broad daylight However, she has set herself the target of visiting all Spoons by the time she is 30 and has been documenting each visit on TikTok under the handle @charlsaurus, where thousands of people have become engrossed in her thoughts on the 13 pubs she has rated so far. In order to pit the pubs against each other fairly, she orders the same drink – an Absolut Vanilla vodka and Pepsi. 'I find it crazy how you can order a drink and the price can be double or triple what you would pay in certain parts of the country,' she said. It seems deciding on a winner will not be a simple task with both The Peter Cushing in Whitstable and The Rockingham Arms in Elephant and Castle both receiving a score of 8.5 out of 10. 'I have to be biased – my favourite one is The Peter Cushing in Whitstable, it's very nice and my grandparents have a house in the area,' Miss Toller said. Posting to TikTok, Miss Toller said The Peter Cushing also impressed with its clean carpet and beer garden, with points deducted because of the distance between the toilets and the bar. She said the look of the carpets in each Spoons features in her ranking system because she received a comment on one of her videos saying there are different carpets in each establishment, which she said has been true so far. On the carpet in The Rockingham Arms, Miss Toller said: 'It's not pretty but it's not ugly.' The pub ramped up its score because of its 'great' location as well as the affordability of her drink of choice by central London standards, which came in at £4.16. She added: 'What I have noticed is the airport (Spoons) don't have carpets so I always mention that in the videos.' Despite no longer being a contender for the crown, Miss Toller gave kudos to the Swan & Castle in Oxford for its well thought out carpet choice, which has swans and castles on it. On the other side of the scale, Miss Toller gave The Four Candles in Oxford a mere three out of 10 as it was hard to find a table and when she did, it was dirty and her beverage had 'no fruit'. The most Spoons she has visited in a day is six, in London, and she tends to fit in a pub visit, often with her boyfriend or friends in tow, if she happens to be travelling to a location where one exists. 'Sometimes people comment and I remember someone commented there is one in Nottingham, and I have a friend who lives there and was planning on visiting her so we went to the Spoons,' she added. 'Some people have also commented saying they are going to do something similar, which is great.' Her most viewed video so far has been on her trip to The Swan & Castle which has been viewed by more than 350,000 people. 'I did not think I would ever go viral, I just wanted to have a bit of fun,' she said. She said she feels Spoons has captured the adoration of many in the UK, especially Gen Z, as it is always there if you need a drink or venue to have a catch-up with a friend. 'I first went to a Spoons when I was 18 and everyone is counting down until they're 18 so they can go to a Spoons and I think it's because it's fairly cheap, it's a good place to go with your friends to play games or just have a chat,' she said. 'Even now, all my friends are off at university and we still all come back and meet at our local Spoons in the holidays.'
The Independent
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
‘I aim to find the UK's best ‘Spoons' by visiting all 800 by the time I am 30′
A university student on a quest to find the best Wetherspoons in the UK plans to visit and rank all 800 pubs by the age of 30. Charlotte Toller, who is 20 and based in Bromley, Greater London, is judging each establishment on criteria including cost and appearance, as well as how far away the toilets are from the bar, the quality of the carpet and general atmosphere. She came up with the quirky idea alongside her boyfriend Finn Hutchinson, also 20, when they were enjoying a few drinks at The Richmal Crompton, their local Wetherspoon pub, or 'Spoons' as it is more colloquially known, in September of last year. Miss Toller is yet to review her local Spoons but started her quest by reviewing The Cordwainer, in Northampton, that same month. 'We realised that on the Wetherspoons app you can tick off all the ones you've been to and we thought, wouldn't it be cool if we could just tick all of them off?' Miss Toller told the PA news agency. There are 800 Spoons, according to the pub company, so Miss Toller, who is studying journalism at the University of Roehampton and also works part time in a pub in her local area, said finding the time to undertake the project has been a challenge in itself. However, she has set herself the target of visiting all Spoons by the time she is 30 and has been documenting each visit on TikTok under the handle @charlsaurus, where thousands of people have become engrossed in her thoughts on the 13 pubs she has rated so far. In order to pit the pubs against each other fairly, she orders the same drink – an Absolut Vanilla vodka and Pepsi. 'I find it crazy how you can order a drink and the price can be double or triple what you would pay in certain parts of the country,' she said. It seems deciding on a winner will not be a simple task with both The Peter Cushing in Whitstable and The Rockingham Arms in Elephant and Castle both receiving a score of 8.5 out of 10. 'I have to be biased – my favourite one is The Peter Cushing in Whitstable, it's very nice and my grandparents have a house in the area,' Miss Toller said. Posting to TikTok, Miss Toller said The Peter Cushing also impressed with its clean carpet and beer garden, with points deducted because of the distance between the toilets and the bar. She said the look of the carpets in each Spoons features in her ranking system because she received a comment on one of her videos saying there are different carpets in each establishment, which she said has been true so far. On the carpet in The Rockingham Arms, Miss Toller said: 'It's not pretty but it's not ugly.' The pub ramped up its score because of its 'great' location as well as the affordability of her drink of choice by central London standards, which came in at £4.16. She added: 'What I have noticed is the airport (Spoons) don't have carpets so I always mention that in the videos.' Despite no longer being a contender for the crown, Miss Toller gave kudos to the Swan & Castle in Oxford for its well thought out carpet choice, which has swans and castles on it. On the other side of the scale, Miss Toller gave The Four Candles in Oxford a mere three out of 10 as it was hard to find a table and when she did, it was dirty and her beverage had 'no fruit'. The most Spoons she has visited in a day is six, in London, and she tends to fit in a pub visit, often with her boyfriend or friends in tow, if she happens to be travelling to a location where one exists. 'Sometimes people comment and I remember someone commented there is one in Nottingham, and I have a friend who lives there and was planning on visiting her so we went to the Spoons,' she added. 'Some people have also commented saying they are going to do something similar, which is great.' Her most viewed video so far has been on her trip to The Swan & Castle which has been viewed by more than 350,000 people. 'I did not think I would ever go viral, I just wanted to have a bit of fun,' she said. She said she feels Spoons has captured the adoration of many in the UK, especially Gen Z, as it is always there if you need a drink or venue to have a catch-up with a friend. 'I first went to a Spoons when I was 18 and everyone is counting down until they're 18 so they can go to a Spoons and I think it's because it's fairly cheap, it's a good place to go with your friends to play games or just have a chat,' she said. 'Even now, all my friends are off at university and we still all come back and meet at our local Spoons in the holidays.'
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘I aim to find the UK's best ‘Spoons' by visiting all 800 by the time I am 30′
A university student on a quest to find the best Wetherspoons in the UK plans to visit and rank all 800 pubs by the age of 30. Charlotte Toller, who is 20 and based in Bromley, Greater London, is judging each establishment on criteria including cost and appearance, as well as how far away the toilets are from the bar, the quality of the carpet and general atmosphere. She came up with the quirky idea alongside her boyfriend Finn Hutchinson, also 20, when they were enjoying a few drinks at The Richmal Crompton, their local Wetherspoon pub, or 'Spoons' as it is more colloquially known, in September of last year. Miss Toller is yet to review her local Spoons but started her quest by reviewing The Cordwainer, in Northampton, that same month. 'We realised that on the Wetherspoons app you can tick off all the ones you've been to and we thought, wouldn't it be cool if we could just tick all of them off?' Miss Toller told the PA news agency. There are 800 Spoons, according to the pub company, so Miss Toller, who is studying journalism at the University of Roehampton and also works part time in a pub in her local area, said finding the time to undertake the project has been a challenge in itself. However, she has set herself the target of visiting all Spoons by the time she is 30 and has been documenting each visit on TikTok under the handle @charlsaurus, where thousands of people have become engrossed in her thoughts on the 13 pubs she has rated so far. In order to pit the pubs against each other fairly, she orders the same drink – an Absolut Vanilla vodka and Pepsi. 'I find it crazy how you can order a drink and the price can be double or triple what you would pay in certain parts of the country,' she said. It seems deciding on a winner will not be a simple task with both The Peter Cushing in Whitstable and The Rockingham Arms in Elephant and Castle both receiving a score of 8.5 out of 10. 'I have to be biased – my favourite one is The Peter Cushing in Whitstable, it's very nice and my grandparents have a house in the area,' Miss Toller said. Posting to TikTok, Miss Toller said The Peter Cushing also impressed with its clean carpet and beer garden, with points deducted because of the distance between the toilets and the bar. She said the look of the carpets in each Spoons features in her ranking system because she received a comment on one of her videos saying there are different carpets in each establishment, which she said has been true so far. On the carpet in The Rockingham Arms, Miss Toller said: 'It's not pretty but it's not ugly.' The pub ramped up its score because of its 'great' location as well as the affordability of her drink of choice by central London standards, which came in at £4.16. She added: 'What I have noticed is the airport (Spoons) don't have carpets so I always mention that in the videos.' Despite no longer being a contender for the crown, Miss Toller gave kudos to the Swan & Castle in Oxford for its well thought out carpet choice, which has swans and castles on it. On the other side of the scale, Miss Toller gave The Four Candles in Oxford a mere three out of 10 as it was hard to find a table and when she did, it was dirty and her beverage had 'no fruit'. The most Spoons she has visited in a day is six, in London, and she tends to fit in a pub visit, often with her boyfriend or friends in tow, if she happens to be travelling to a location where one exists. 'Sometimes people comment and I remember someone commented there is one in Nottingham, and I have a friend who lives there and was planning on visiting her so we went to the Spoons,' she added. 'Some people have also commented saying they are going to do something similar, which is great.' Her most viewed video so far has been on her trip to The Swan & Castle which has been viewed by more than 350,000 people. 'I did not think I would ever go viral, I just wanted to have a bit of fun,' she said. She said she feels Spoons has captured the adoration of many in the UK, especially Gen Z, as it is always there if you need a drink or venue to have a catch-up with a friend. 'I first went to a Spoons when I was 18 and everyone is counting down until they're 18 so they can go to a Spoons and I think it's because it's fairly cheap, it's a good place to go with your friends to play games or just have a chat,' she said. 'Even now, all my friends are off at university and we still all come back and meet at our local Spoons in the holidays.'
