Swiggin in Wiggin : September 2012 - Wigan

Great British Beer Festival ... a volunteer’s perspective
If you attend any CAMRA beer festival, you will
most likely see the bars, games stalls, admissions
desks, and stewards etc “staffed” by a variety of
people. All sorts of ages, shapes and sizes, all
linked by one thing - a themed “t-shirt”, and most
importantly a desire to support, like many have
done for 40 years, our cause to stop the demise
and now promote the growth of real ale.
They are in fact unpaid volunteers, save that
precious t-shirt and a few pints of beer if and
when time permits. While the majority of CAMRA
members spend their time drinking, once you have
served on the other side of a bar, many find that
having bitten by the bug, you can’t resist wanting
to help out on more beer festivals.
The pinnacle of the volunteer’s year though has
to be Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) in August.
As London isn’t just around the corner for us in the
North West and although you need to pay your own
train fare to get down there, CAMRA do provide
you with accommodation either free in student
accommodation or subsidised should you wish to
book your own in the numerous hotels around that
years venue.
I was bitten by this particular bug 5 years ago, and
despite other disruptive factors this year, I for one
found the thought of returning to work there again
irresistible!
The scale of GBBF means that CAMRA need over
a thousand members to staff the various bars
and elements. Having chosen a preference for bar
work, for the last four years I have been proud to
be part of the permanent volunteers on “Ben’s
bar”, and what a team it is!
This year, all the bars were named after famous
sportsmen and Ben the bar manager was allocated
Bar 7, “Hutton’s Bar”, named after Sir Len Hutton,
the English test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire
and England before and after the Second World
War as an opening batsman.
We served a wide range of beers from our own
branch’s Allgates brewery “Hopgate” through to
Yates “Tropicale” from the Isle of Wight. Although
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the Hopgate was in good condition and enjoyed by
many, it was the Ramsgate “She Sells Seashells”
(even though most customers could hardly say the
name) that even outsold the popular Wye Valley
“Dorothy Goodbody’s Wholesome Stout”.
The festival opens to the public on most days
at noon until 10:30 p.m., and the working day
is divided into two “shifts”. However, seasoned
volunteers tend to work straight through on at
least a couple of days and either have a day off,
or a couple of shifts off to be able to visit some of
London’s visitor delights, be it the theatre, or just
being a tourist and seeing the famous sights.
All work and no play definitely wouldn’t suit Ben’s
bar. So after the formality of the Tuesday trade
day, the team don fancy dress on the Wednesday
including most of the “bigger” lads in short
skirts. Thursday is “hats” day for all including the
customers. Friday and Saturday are the busiest
when it literally is “all hands to the pumps”.
On the eve of the festival a pub crawl around
London is now well established for the team and
as they come from all over the country we have
had reunions in Chester, Bishops Castle and later
this year the team are due to meet up again in
Birmingham.
Not all CAMRA members venture as far as GBBF,
but if you do fancy helping out a CAMRA festival,
I can assure you it is a rewarding experience.
Why not try
it even by
just helping
for an hour
or two,
which would
enable the
stalwarts
a needed
and much
appreciated
break.