Latest news with #community pub
BBC News
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Chris Martin surprises fans with impromptu pub gig in Calderdale
Children in their pyjamas and their parents lined up outside a small community pub in West Yorkshire last night after hearing that Chris Martin was performing an impromptu gig. The Coldplay star showed up to the Puzzle Hall Inn in Calderdale for an hour-long set before chatting and taking pictures with fans and even giving out tickets to his Hull show on Monday. One man said he woke up his two teenage daughters to tell them Martin was "down the road" and take them to the gig when he got a call to say the singer was at the Varley told the BBC: "Imagine being 17 and you like Coldplay and your dad blunders in and asks do want to go and see Chris Martin right dressed we're going in five minutes." Mr Varley, from Halifax, added: "I just bundled them in the car and got there just as he was starting."People just turned up for a drink and saw Chris Martin unloading pianos - can you believe that?" He said after the gig at the Sowerby Bridge venue, "loads of people" started arriving in cars including "kids in jim jams" to catch a glimpse of the band. "Chris was really chatty and really engaged and even put a picture on his piano that one of the customers' children had made for him. "He made a big fuss of it and said he would 'treasure it forever'."He just came across as a really nice guy and said thank you to everyone on the way out." There were only about 100 people in the audience and another fan said that after chatting to him about some local disadvantaged children, Martin gave them 10 tickets to his next show at Craven Park Stadium in Hull, the penultimate stop on his world tour. Mr Varley, who is on the board of directors for the Puzzle Hall, said the venue did have an inkling Martin would be coming but most of the punters had no idea. He added: "It would have had to be kept under wraps due to security otherwise thousands of people would have turned up."The Puzzle Hall Inn is a "real ale pub" in Sowerby Bridge that supports "local people, suppliers and independent business", according to its website. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
23-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Community wins funding to buy 'ceilidh house' Glenuig Inn
A historic west Highland pub that provides a focal point for traditional music is to be bought by the local community after a funding award. The Glenuig Inn in Lochaber contains stonework dating back to a building burned down in 1746 by soldiers pursuing Bonne Prince Charlie after the Jacobite the years the inn, about 30 miles (48km) from Fort William, has become known as a traditional "ceilidh house" where trad and folk musicians gather to play.A grant of nearly £353,000 from the Scottish Land Fund will allow the community to buy the site and associated buildings. Musicians travel from the surrounding area to play at informal ceilidhs at the inn, with as many as 30 people sometimes playing together. Glenuig Community Inn Ltd plans to continue operating the inn as a pub, restaurant and accommodation. Chairman Peter Langhorne said the funding award was "wonderful news". "We will now be able to buy the inn which we have been leasing and operating for the last four months," he said. "The Glenuig community has a long history of developing and managing community assets but this really is the cherry on the cake." The Scottish Land Fund is a Scottish government funded initiative, delivered in partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund and Highlands and Islands grant is one of 10 that have been made, totalling about £1.45m. Mairi Gougeon, cabinet secretary for rural affairs, land reform and islands, said: "Vibrant community spaces are the lifeblood of our towns and villages- places where people can meet, access services, and simply enjoy being together. "The latest awards from the Scottish Land Fund will deliver exactly that; welcoming, reliable facilities offering childcare, recreation and wider opportunities for local people."Other funding recipients are: £239,005 for Balerno Village Trust to buy the police station, providing community spaces for hire and after school care£197,658 to buy three parcels of land on Rousay in Orkney for community facilities, tourism and a community-led island marina£185,800 for Alloa Community Shed to purchase a town centre building for a community hub offering DIY lessons£100,465 to buy Barthol Chapel Parish Church in Aberdeenshire for a community hub, café and exhibition space£93,600 for community purchase of Fearn Abbey£92,239 to acquire a shop for the community in Glenelg£82,001 to purchase the Polmont Community Hub to allow its continued use.£63,961 to buy the former library building at Beatlie school in Livingston for Spark, a group supporting socially isolated people
