Branch Christmas Dinner
The Heart of Warwickshire Branch Christmas Dinner will be held at 7pm on Saturday 14 December 2024 at the Cape Of Good Hope in Warwick. You can buy tickets by clicking or scanning the QR code.
Full details are on our events page here.
Kidderminster Beer & Cider Festival
Old Post Office 10th Anniversary Celebrations

The Old Post Office will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary on Friday 19 July. Situated at 12 West Street in Warwick, the “OPO” has become a firm favourite in the town and for visitors alike.
The “OPO” first opened its doors back in 2014 to high acclaim and has been in every edition of the Good Beer Guide since then. It has also been winner or runner-up in the Heart of Warwickshire CAMRA Pub of the Year competition every eligible year – an amazing nine times. This included being local winner three times and in 2018 it went on to win the County Pub of the Year.
The pub was the vision turned into reality of Tom Douglas, ably assisted by daughter Gemma and wife Gill – Tom bringing his years of licensing experience and Gemma her expertise in beer selection ensuring there was always something interesting to tempt the tastebuds.
In April 2023 new owners Tim and Rachel took on the reins, keeping the character and ethos of the pub while carrying out some light renovations including the installation of a much-needed cool room. This also allowed an expansion not only of the beer offering but also addition of a full range of spirits, wine and soft drinks.
The anniversary will be officially marked in a ceremony by the Mayor of Warwick, Councillor Dave Skinner, at approximately 7pm on Friday 19 July. It would be great to see lots of branch members there.
The festivities start from 3pm on Friday and include Tom’s Tombola, hosted by previous landlord Tom Douglas, as well as snacks on hand and beers and ciders selected by a few pub “celebrities”. The fun continues Saturday daytime including the usual regular 3-5pm live music slot with firm favourite Wes Finch and his band (pictured below).
“We feel honoured to be able to celebrate 10 years of The Old Post Office” said Tim Maccabee, current licensee. “We’ve been here for just over a year but already feel right at home in this lovely community pub. But of course, we wanted to include Tom, Gill and Gemma in the celebrations and are looking forward to seeing many of our regulars to share a glass or two!”
Our HoW CAMRA chair, Julie Griffiths, commented: “Heart of Warwickshire CAMRA is blessed with a thriving real ale scene and The Old Post Office is one of the best! There’s always a warm welcome at The OPO and always something interesting to try on the bar. We’re delighted to congratulate the team and regulars on 10 wonderful years!”
Below you can see some old and new pictures of The OPO and a couple of the brilliant Wes Finch, who is performing at 3pm on Saturday 20 July. If you recognise John Parker, the bass player, he was in Nizlopi, famous for the JCB Song about 20 years ago.
Warwick Court Leet Summer Beer, Cider & Music Festival
The Warwick Court Leet Summer Beer, Cider & Music Festival is taking place on 12 & 13 July 2024 at Warwick Racecourse, (postcode CV34 6HN). Festival entrance, including a programme and souvenir glass, is £10. Full details are here. Please note that this is not a CAMRA festival.
2024 Branch Annual General Meeting
The Heart of Warwickshire Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on Tuesday 9 July 2024, 7:30pm, at The Wild Boar, 27 Lakin Road, Warwick, CV34 5BU. Anyone is welcome to attend, but only branch members can vote.
The first thing we do at the AGM is to form a new Branch Committee and any branch member can stand for any of the positions listed below. If you would like to volunteer yourself or nominate another branch member, please email admin@how.camra.org.uk by midnight on 22 June 2024.
Committee position | Current | Nominations |
Chair | Julie Griffiths | Julie Griffiths |
Treasurer | Ian Chapman | Ian Chapman |
Secretary | Sally-Jane Downes | Sally-Jane Downes |
Membership Secretary | Julie Griffiths | |
Magazine Editor | Julie Griffiths | |
Press Officer | John Crossling | |
Pubs Officer and Pub News | Pete Webb | |
Webmaster | Ian Chapman | Ian Chapman |
Cider Officer | Vacant | |
Social Secretary | Julie Griffiths | |
Committee members without portfolio | Tony Cragg David Griffiths Adrian Lee | Tony Cragg David Griffiths Adrian Lee |
No experience is necessary and role summaries are available on the CAMRA Members’ Area of the website. Please feel tree to drop a line to any of the existing committee if you have any questions.
For any position where there is more than one nominee, voting will take place via the website between 24 June – 7 July (a link will be posted here) or you can vote in person at the meeting on 9 July.
We look forward to seeing you at the AGM.
Branch Christmas Dinner
Our Christmas Dinner was held on 8 December 2023 at the Old Fourpenny Shop Pub in Warwick, where a great time was had by all. A few photos are shown below (click on the image for a larger version).
John Griffiths

It is with great sadness we announce that Heart of Warwickshire Committee Member, John Griffiths, passed away last October after a short, but aggressive illness.
A friendly smile and a beer in his hand is how many people will remember John. He was an active member of the branch for many years, becoming Social Secretary in 2011, organising weekly socials and other events which he loved to attend and welcome members and non-members along to.
His other branch roles included Webmaster, for which he won an award for most improved website, Pub News and Pubs Officer, making sure our pub details were up to date and current, tirelessly visiting them for a pint to check out the quality of the beer!
John was also a key member of the Harbury Beer Festival held each year in August/September, and a major contributor to planning beer lists, organising, running and of course enjoying the festival. He was greatly missed in Harbury last year due to his illness and sadly will not be with us as we celebrate our 30th festival this year.
He has left a huge hole in our branch and is a presence we all miss.
Annual General Meeting
The 2023 Annual General Meeting will be held at 19:30 on Tuesday 13 June at The Wild Boar, 27 Lakin Road, Warwick, CV34 5BU. All branch members are encouraged to attend. Guests and prospective members are also welcome but are not eligible to vote.
We are voting for branch committee members at this meeting and after many years’ service John Crossling, our current Chair, is standing down. We already have one nomination for the position and if you would like to nominate anyone (with their agreement) or volunteer yourself for that or any other position, please let us know by emailing events@how.camra.org.uk or call/text 07734 947036, including your membership number. Deadline for nominations is 27 May 2023. Note that to date we have no nominations for Public Affairs Officer and Cider Officer.
The full list of committee positions is below:
Role | Current | Nominated to date |
---|---|---|
Chair | John Crossling | Julie Griffiths |
Treasurer | Ian Chapman | Ian Chapman |
Secretary | Sally-Jane Downes | Sally-Jane Downes |
Membership Secretary | Julie Griffiths | Julie Griffiths |
Magazine Editor | Julie Griffiths | Julie Griffiths |
Public Affairs Officer | John Crossling | Vacancy |
Pubs Officer and Pub News | Pete Webb | Pete Webb |
Webmaster | Ian Chapman | Ian Chapman |
Cider Officer | Vacancy | Vacancy |
Social Secretary | Julie Griffiths | Julie Griffiths |
Committee member without portfolio | Adrian Lee Tony Cragg | Adrian Lee Tony Cragg |
Detailed descriptions of the roles can be found in the members area of the CAMRA website – https://camra.org.uk/volunteers-area/branch-resources/branch-information/ (you will need to logon first).
After the AGM you are welcome to stay for an update on the Harbury Beer Festival.