CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE

Pub of the Season

DONCASTER & DISTRICT BRANCH

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Spring 2002

The Paddock
Cantley

Members of the Doncaster and District Branch of CAMRA recently voted the Paddock in Cantley as our Pub of the Season for Spring 2002.

Licensees Dougie and Christine Thrower have been at the Paddock for 17 years and for most of that time have served cask ale. The Paddock was one of the first pubs in Doncaster to receive cask John Smith's beers in the mid eighties when the company re-introduced it. Initially it was not a success with the locals and it was, in fact, removed for a short time, but Doug decided to give it a second chance and the cask John's has been a regular on the bar ever since. It is now also in the company of two regular guest beers, Greene King's Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen.

The Paddock is an appropriate pub for Dougie as, a few years ago, he and some other friends and local licensees bought a racehorse. Highbank has been a winner on eight occasions and been placed regularly on its outings and, although the partnership has since been dissolved and Dougie is now the sole owner, the partners remain good friends and enjoy visits to see Highbank run.

The pub has two rooms; a bar with the usual TV, pool table and darts etc. and a totally different lounge. Entering via a revolving door, one of the first things noticeable is the horse racing influence of the pub, with lots of pictures of racehorses adorning the walls. There is no jukebox or piped music in the lounge (something that Dougie has strongly opposed in his seventeen years at the pub). The art of conversation is still alive and kicking at the Paddock. Also in the lounge is a tropical fish tank, which is set into a disused fireplace.

Both Dougie and Christine have family connections with the licensed trade, Doug's uncle Bill was the landlord of the old King's Head for over twenty years before it was demolished and replaced by the new King's Head, Christine's brother was at one time the landlord of the Sun Inn on York Road, and, of course, her sister is none other than Kath Day, the landlady at the Corner Pin.

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