BRANCH REPRESENTATIVES
The people in these 'Branch Representative' pages form part of the current South Bedfordshire CAMRA Branch Committee.
Please feel free to email any of us or approach us if you see us in your pub. Landlords, you can always try a bribe of good ale/cider for that extra bit of publicity!
Secretary, Pubs Officer, Webmaster and Festival Organiser -
Mike Coombes
(Contact by email)
Profile:
Born: 1st March 1969 in Luton
Joined CAMRA: 1996/7
Home: Water End, Maulden
Occupation: Aerospace Engineer
Favourite local pubs: (in no particular order) Stone Jug, Clophill; Wellington, Bedford; Black Horse, Luton; Jolly Coopers, Flitton.
Favourite Ales: No particular style except I don't like milds much. Big fan of beers from the Dark Star (Brighton) and Mighty Oak (Maldon - not Maulden). I also really like real proper cider.
Born in 1969 in Luton I missed out on the infamous Watneys Red Barrel days but I still started my drinking career on the ubiquoutous rubbish lagers due to lack of education I suppose. I thought a change might be in order and tried Whitbread Best (keg) and decided it was OK. I discovered real ale by frequenting the Cock's 'dedicated' real ale bar - it was amazing that I wasn't put off for life considering that half of what they sold there was virtually vinegar! The same applied to my next regular haunt, the Fedora and Firkin in Chapel Street. I stuck with it however, I got hooked on the Firkin ideal and organised several pub crawls around the many London Firkins (and no, I was never even a full time student). Until 2007 I lived in the Leagrave area of Luton but now I've become a country squire (I like to think) in the far north of our region in Maulden. I'm still learning the art of full-mash brewing but we have had a lot of success with making our own cider.
I joined CAMRA in 1997. I've always wanted to get more involved with CAMRA activities but my job meant that I spent a lot of time away from home. Early in 2006 I found that a new webmaster was needed so I volunteered since I could do it at weekends. I don't know much about being a webmaster, so I stick to simple stuff, and it shows. At the AGM in December 2006 the branch Secretary position became vacant and with a shortage of willing volunteers I decided to have a go. At the same AGM I even roped-in my long-suffering wife Ros who is now the branch Membership Secretary. In 2007 I got heavily involved in our new all Bedfordshire online pub guide and so duly volunteered to be the branch Pubs Officer too, since we didn't have one before.
I'm also the CAMRA Area Organiser for Bedfordshire - which basically means that I coordinate the county entries for the Good Beer Guide and County Pub of the Year. I also try to help out the Regional Director who has 22 branches in six counties to look after.
Since our usual, highly competent Luton Beer & Cider Festival organiser, Caroline can't do it in 2010 I've volunteered to step-in to the gap.
II try to get to as many different pubs as possible throughout the year - especially those in the Good Beer Guide - and not just in our area.
My other interests are canal boating (lots of good pubs on the canals), birdwatching (not twitching) cycling (no, I'm not THE intrepid cyclist) and walking.
Other Branch Representatives: -
Chairman - Roy Chatto
Membership Secretary - Ros Coombes
Newsletter Editor - Steve Pullan
Branch Contact and Treasurer - Dave Oakley
Social Secretary - Paul Sharp
Young Members Secretary - Adam Croft
Return to South Beds CAMRA Home Page