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Pubs are top of the decs

30/12/2004

IF YOU want true Christmas spirit, Middleton seems to be the place to go.

For while the council's Christmas lights have come up for a bit of stick, it seems local pubs have pulled out all the stops when it comes to hanging out the tinsel and baubles.

Local brewers J W Lees ran a survey of all its estate of 175 pubs to find the hostelry that had put the most effort into Christmas spirit this year, and remarkably three of the pubs in its shortlist of 12 were from Middleton.

It was a close decision, but two Middleton pubs were selected joint first from all those in the region - the Old Cock on Oldham Road, Moorclose and the Ring O'Bells in Top O'Middleton. The third pub in the shortlist was the Cotton Tree on Boarshaw Road.

Brewery managing director William Lees-Jones said: "All our pubs make an effort at Christmas, but it is clear that some really push the boat out.

"Everyone loves a Christmassy pub and we wanted to reward those that had made a real effort."

Kerry Kyshner, landlady of the Old Cock said: "We were delighted when we heard that we had come tops in the competition and we all had a good celebration.

"You really have to pull out all the stops at Christmas to make sure everyone has a good time."