Tuesdays are traditionally the days for pub hand-overs, and the last day of August saw the Chequers in Chipping Norton change hands with the tenancy transferring from the hands of John Cooper, landlord since taking over from Josh and Kaye Reid in October 2006, to Jim and Indra Hopcraft.

The Hopcrafts have been in Chippy since the late nineties, when they moved to the area while working for Wychwood Brewery. They had managed some Hobgoblinns around the country before becoming part of the management team in Witney. Jim is a CAMRA member and you may have met him at Chipping Norton�s Rugby Club Beer Festival which he has co-ordinated for the last five years.

The Chequers is well known for its quality selection of Fuller's ales. Jim says "It's a delight to be involved with such a great well known pub. We will be extending the beer range to make use of Fuller's reciprocal deals but I hope you can be sure of a well kept ale at any time. We have a fantastic new chef who is excited about preparing fresh local food both for the traditionalist and for those who want to try something a bit different." With landlords called Hopcraft and a chef called Tuckwell the Chequers is already on the right road. We welcome Jim and Indra, wish them every success and look forward to many more meetings in this pleasant venue.