A PUB known for its community spirit has donated £1,000 to Willow Wood Hospice after months of fundraising with the help of its regulars.
The King William IV, on Talbot Road in the Newton area of Hyde, recently welcomed Tara Farren to receive the cheque and see its much-loved Memory Bench – a special place where people can remember family members and friends who are no longer with them.
The bench, which has been in the beer garden for almost four years, was created by landlady Nicole Webb after she wanted to find a lasting way to honour regular customers who had passed away.
Speaking to the Tameside Correspondent, she said: “I’ve been the landlady here now for seven years and, when you’re in the pub game, you do tend to lose customers quite often.
“We didn’t really want to do the traditional way of putting plaques all over the walls because you end up losing room, so we wanted to do something different.”
Nicole approached The Shed project to create the bench, which sits in the pub’s spacious beer garden.
“It’s somewhere nice for people to go out, have a drink or just sit for a while,” she said. “On birthdays and special occasions people will leave a drink on the bench for their loved one, or balloons and flowers.
“We started with nobody on there and, as you can see now, there are so many names. In just our time here it’s grown so much, and everyone absolutely loves it.”
Tara’s visit to the King Bill came after the pub raised £1,000 for Willow Wood through its popular weekly Tote Accumulator.
Held every Sunday, customers pay £2 to enter the draw, with 10 per cent of the money raised each week set aside until it reaches £1,000 before being donated to a chosen charity.
Nicole said supporting Willow Wood was an easy decision because of the hospice’s close links to so many people in the local area.
“All the customers are the ones donating, so I asked them where they wanted to see the money go and Willow Wood was the chosen one,” she said.
“It’s only around the corner really and, whether they’ve actually dealt with Willow Wood themselves, they’ve all known someone who’s been there.
“It holds something for so many people. The customers don’t bat an eyelid when it comes to donating to Willow Wood – honestly, they’d give their last penny.”
The King Bill has become well known for its fundraising efforts, supporting a wide range of charities chosen by its customers.
Earlier this year the pub raised almost £1,700 for Lila’s Light, while raffles and other fundraising events are held throughout the year for local causes.
Rather than deciding where donations should go herself, Nicole prefers to let customers have the final say.
“We’re all for giving anything a try,” she said. “Everyone knows the big charities, but sometimes it’s the smaller ones that don’t really get mentioned.
“If we’ve asked the customers where they want their money to go and they’ve had that input, it makes a massive difference.”
Following the cheque presentation, the King William IV thanked Willow Wood for everything it does for the local community, saying it was proud to continue supporting the hospice and the vital care it provides across Tameside and Glossop.