Mayoress of Wakefield, Councillor Pat Garbutt, is entertained by festival Organizer Mick Exley
This looks like club entertainer Johnny Vegas but it's actually Mick Exley organizer of the 2007 Merrie City Beer Festival.
Councillor Alan Garbutt, Mayor of Wakefield speaks with Rob Turton of WF6 Brewery.
View of the hall from the balcony. Note the fleece cooling jackets on the casks.
White Rose Bar, left and East Midlands Bar, right
Local historian, raconteur, tv personality and passionate Socialist, Ian Clayton discovers how light the plastic casks are, which many small brewers use to economise on outlay transport and losses.
The evening certainly brought back memories for Ian Clayton
Andy and Julie Dawson who run the World Beers at Merrie City, just back from a research trip to Central Europe.
Sandra Naylor, left and Mike Abba, Branch Treasurer, right, issuing beer tickets.
Steve K, taking a break from stewarding to man the signing-in book where CAMRA members showing their membership cards received their entry concession of two beer tickets.
Maureen Waller offering a choice of chutneys on the food stand.
Vanessa Shaw on the food stand casts a professional eye over the speciality cheeses.
Time for an executive decision, says Secretary June Bradbury, right. Centre is Pat Wallis, Assistant Staffing Officer and Charities, with Peter O'Toole of the Red Shed.
The East Midland Bar is all set up and ready to go; John Hoult (left), Ronnie Crookes (we think) and John's brother Dave (right)
East Midlands Bar: John Hoult (left) and Ronnie Crookes (right). Ronnie has overall responsibility for janitorial affairs during the festival.
Beer-Inn-Print to discover more visit www.beerinprint.co.uk
On the South-Eastern Bar, manager Jon Chapman shares a predilection for dark beers with a punter.
Festival Staffing Officer June Bradbury kits out a volunteer worker with a t-shirt.
George is (actually) pleased to see her.
Dave "Wurzel" Martin receives a beer ticket for a half pint of hoppy South Eastern beer.
Side by side are the CAMRA Membership & Products stall, and the tombola where "Every One's A Winner !!"
The Olives Man has become a firm favourite at Merrie City.
This year the Olives Man's van broke down on the A34 so he didn;t arrive in time to set up on the Thursday night - you'd have thought it was the End of the World for a lot of punters!
A bottler, caught in the act. A subspecies of the Ticker, who comes to beer festivals to score beers, trainspotter-style, is the bottler who decants the beers into Panda Pops bottles for consumption either in the privacy of his own home, or in some cases, they say, at secret late-nght rendez-vous on Crewe Station.
The specialist equipment of a Bottler, lined up on the table. These are usually found at Friday afternoon sessions.
Now George really is pleased to see this customer!
A familiar character at beer festivals is Andrew Smith, an enthusiast from Sheffield, affectionately known as Badge Man. About to serve him is Alan Shaw.
John Groves, White Rose Bar Manager has just learned from Pat Wallis that he's won a day's brewing in the charity draw.
Beer-Inn-Print www.beerinnprint.co.uk
Ain't he grrreat? CAMRA products, plus Ossett Brewery goodies on the Products Stall.
It's a serious business, this beer tasting.
Festival Treasurer Mark Goodair does a tour of inspection.
Barry Sawforth searches desperately for the right tombola ticket - don't have light blue and grey on together!
But yes! Another lucky winner!
You know, Im feeling so lucky, I think I'll have another three for a pound.
Ben Dunning young CAMRA member from London receives instruction from George Denton (former festival organizer, so there's not much he doesn't know) in drawing beer from a gravity tap.
Bob Whitehead mans the cider and sidro bar.
It's getting busier.
Bob Whitehead draws traditional perry from a tub - cider has green labels.
Bob Whitehead's really a beer man but everyone mucks in.
Derek Waller is really enjoying his new rôle as a pieman.
John Hoult and Ronnie Crokkes in reflective vein. They didn't get many spare moments like this.
Ben has now pulled his first ½ pint.
Simon Chappell's joined the Real Ale Revolution - our t-shirts were sponsored by Ossett Brewery.
Simon looks as if he's done this a few times before.
That beer needs some food to soak it up!
Rod Naylor ain't stressed out.
Festival organizer caught napping!
Steve Walmsley and Bob Whitehead
This is the happy crew from Wear Valley and Darlington CAMRA who combined a visit to Merrie City with a trip around Ossett Brewery on the Saturday afternoon.
....and these are the guys from Wear Valley Brewery
When you're trying to transform a sports hall into the biggest pub in West Yorkshire, the banners of our local brewers are a great help.
Unseasonally warm weather for mid-October meant that we had to have special dispensation to open fire exits, which, of course, needed stewarding to prevent unauthorised misuse.
Simon Chappell (please add your comments below)
Ian Lodge always manages to find his way back to Wakey when the festival's on
Bob Whitehead....
Bob Whitehead
David Pickersgill
Not sure what this says about Dave Hoult.
Bob Frudd (right) runs a nice little beer festival every Summer at the Newmillerdam Scout Hut. Do check the Branch Diary in season.
Shane is a final year design student at Huddersfield University working his first beer festival.
....and this is Josie
It looks as if the Leicester Peggers have struck again.
Jon Chapman
... and this is Shane's friend from Fev
Bob Allan from Leeds, officially
Mark Goodair and Steve Walmsley would probably prefer not to be seen like this.
These two punters have been to nearly every Merrie City Beer Festival.
divine inspiration
our Maureen
Dave James with Liz, new landlady at Fernandes
Liz Crosby
This is Richard Norris who knows more about cider than most of us.
Bob Whitehead with Mandy, daughter of Dave and Maureen James
Bob and Mandy
Bob's gone limp.
Festival Treasurer Mark Goodair on the Ciders & Country Wines
Sam Eldridge injects a bit of spark into the tombola.
Albert honks for last orders.
Maureen James is game for owt!
You can see the longest bar at the biggest pub.
On the Saturday night some beers have sold out and a bar is able to make a start on bunging empty cask and dismantling the cooling.
Two eighteens have been emptied, bunged and cleared.
Brewer to brewer, left Bryan Guy of WF6, right Paul Senior of Clark's.
It's Maureen again.
