Lynne Comley Reports

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Lynne became the landlady of The Black Horse in December 1996. Some of her reports printed in Hallmark are below.

Lynne was the Booking Secretary for the Village Hall Committee from 1998 onwards

Hallmark February 1997. by Lynne.

I have been Licensee since 5th December and would like to thank everybody for all their support since I have taken over.

We are open weekdays for lunches between 12 noon and 2pm and evening meals on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 7 to 9pm. The food is homemade traditional bar snacks, hot and cold.

On Sundays we do a 2-course (main course and dessert) meals from 12 noon to 2.30pm for £4.95.

We are open all day 11am -11pm until the beginning of April, after which we will also be open all day Fridays.

Burns Night was a fantastic evening, Hugh and his friends made the night go with a total bang. Thanks for all your help and support.

Our Quiz night was very successful. Well done Alan's team for coming first out of 11 teams that entered. Next Quizz Night will be Sunday 19th February, starting at 8pm.

Hallmark May 1997 by Lynne

Well, I think that at long last I have some good news for everybody concerning the Black Horse. As from 9th May 1997, we have been taken over by a new brewery. They are called Gibbs Mew, based at Salisbury. I have been lucky enough to get the tenancy for the Black Horse, so now we can get down to business and get this village pub running to its full potential.

Gibbs Mew intend to do some alteration to the inside of the pub in the next few months and to smarten the outside by giving it a complete new repaint. They have no intention at all to change the type of pub it is – they want to keep it as a village pub for the community.

The other good news is that the planning appeal has been turned down once again. This means that The Black Horse will not be turned into houses. I would like to say a very big thank you to David Richardson for all his help regarding this campaign. Without his hard work I really don’t think the village would have kept their pub. Thanks, David.

What’s on the agenda?

We are still doing Quiz Night every month. These seem to be going extremely well. Also hoping to set up an Aunt Sally Team for the summer months. If there is anyone interested to start a Ladies Darts Team, or a Dominoes & Crib etc team for the Black Horse, please pop in and see me or Tony. Hopefully, we will be able to get some teams going.

Please don’t forget we do bar food every lunch time between 12 and 2pm; also Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights 7 till 9.30pm. Sunday we do a set menu from 12 till 2.30 for £4.95.

Thanks for all your support.

Hallmark August 1997. by Lynne

It has now been 8 months since I took over the Black Horse at Lacey Green and in that time it has been very busy and an eventful few months.

Several things have happened in the last few months since the last Hallmark.

We did a sponsored Quiz Night for a charity called UK Rett Syndrome Association. This was a really successful night – we raised £146. Thank you Richard for being in the Mastermind chair. Don’t forget! Quiz Night is every last Sunday in the month. The next date is 27^th July 97.

We held an Italian Night with a guest chef. David Richardson, one of the customers at the Black Horse, came in and totally took over my kitchen. He prepared a four course Italian meal for 30 people; he even designed his own menus. The night was a fantastic success. Plenty of food and wine was consumed. Thank you, David, for all your hard work on that day and the gourmet meal you cooked (Oh, by the way David, the washing up is still here!). If there is anybody else who would like a try in my kitchen, give me a ring (01844 345195).

Then it was Village Day, my first experience of a Lacey Green Village Day.

A few of us got together and decided to arrange a float, so we were kindly lent a bam and trailer from Richard West and made the Black Horse beach Bar. We all looked at it and felt there was just something missing. We all looked at each other and said Richard Danvers.

So, on the morning of Village Day, Richard came to the pub at 9 o'clock to be dressed as a Black Bar lady. Thanks, Richard, for your co-operation, not knowing this was going to happen until the day. And we came 1% A quick thanks to everybody for all their hard work on the Day – it couldn’t have been done without you.

Any ladies who would like to join the – Wednesday League Dart team please give me a ring. Also, if anybody is interested in Aunt Sally, come along and see me.

To Lynne. Hallmark February 1998. Message from Pat Brooks. The members of the 81st Over 60's Club would like to thank Lynne from the Black Horse for the splendid Christmas Lunch she provided for them in the Village Hall on 9th December. The meal was delicious as too was the wine and everyone wishes to thank her for her kindness and generosity. Thank you Lynne.

Hallmark August 1998. The Black Horse by Lynne

Well, the new edition of Hallmark is already upon us, published in Summer, so why can’t we have some summer weather so that you can all come and sit in our garden – we have plenty of benches with umbrellas (for shade!), and a play area if you bring the children.

So much has happened since I last wrote for Hallmark, Tony and I had an unforgettable holiday on an Alaskan cruise, and I know the pub was well looked after by Richard and Janet while we were away. Our daughter Gemma has passed her eighteenth birthday, left college and is now a working girl - will we get paid I wonder!

Aunt Sally season is in full swing in spite of the weather, and whilst the crib and dommies boys are limbering up for next season, counting their holes and spots, the darts team are sharpening their points - next season we are in a Friday league so we need more players.

Our Quiz evenings are a continuing success, held on the last Sunday evening in the month, £5 a team, we will always welcome new teams, or if you are on your own we will try to fit you in with others.

John and Steve from the rock band “Jump” have done a couple of hugely popular acoustic sessions for us, and we hope to have another in the autumn if they can fit us in, as they put on a really great evening.

No publican wants to see an empty pub, but we made an exception on 30th May when Chris Oakford and Jane were married, and took most of our customers with them to the reception at the Wanderers’ ground; it all went very well and we were delighted for both of them.

We are extending our range of Food and Drink specials all the time, we have a “Happy Hour” on Monday to Friday between 6 and 7 p.m, and we are running Saturday evening barbecues until 5th September, 7 to 9 p.m.; why not come along, Fred is always pleased to see the ladies, whilst the fellas might be lucky enough to be served by one of our gorgeous barmaids or waitresses!

Don’t forget us if you are looking for an outside buffet or bar - I’m sure we can come up with something special!

Hallmark May 1999 The Black Horse by Lynne

In the fervent hope that the sun will shine this Summer, we have spruced up the garden furniture, set out the play area for the children, and even invested in a “bouncy castle”, which children will be able to use, but they must be supervised by an adult. In a burst of pure optimism we are even planning to have barbecues at the weekends, so watch our notice board (and the weather forecast!)

Before all this happens however, by the time you read this four of the “gorgeous girls” will have been to Lanzarote for some early sun we hope – we had planned to go to Turkey, but apparently some Kurds got wind of it and threatened to chuck a few bombs - and we had thought that Kurds were something to do with Little Miss Muffet........

Mark van Reysen cooked for a “full house, on Korean Night - Many thanks Mark – and now he’s threatening to do a Burmese Night, no wonder there’s an Asian Crisis. We had a good time on “Paddy’s Night”, so much so that we have asked the group Jacob’s Creek to come back again, and as I write we are very much looking forward to a return visit from the duo from Jump, John and Steve, who with their wives form Perfect Saturday, one of our Sunday Night Quiz teams! What a link!

Yes folks, last Sunday evening in every month your chance to join the know-alls and smarty pants in our Quiz nights.

Still on the subject of indoor pastimes, we congratulate our Crib and Domino boys on winning their league for the second year running; the darts teams both men and ladies were not so proficient, but improved on the previous year, and at this rate to could present a serious challenge in around, oh, say, 2020.

Lots of specials to look out for if you’re coming here to eat (watch the boards), and in response to popular request, we have set a part of the eating area apart as a “No Smoking” zone, during meal-times.

Returning to our earlier theme of the great outdoors, the idea of a lion taming club had to be shelved, as did the warthog racing, so instead we are again running our ever popular Aunt Sally stick throwing games on Friday evenings - why not come and try it? (Two sticks were returned recently from the garden next door - how ever can they have got there?)

Finally I must say a big “Thank you” to all my staff, the “gorgeous girls” and the chaps, who have helped the pub to run so smoothly during my 2 % years here, and take the Black Horse from strength to strength.