DUNSTABLE’S High Street South has never been as glamorous as it was on a very special Thursday.
Lots of lovely ladies could be seen there, dressed up to the nines in gorgeous glitz and head-turning hats in the middle of the day.
Why were they all glammed up? For Royal Ascot’s Ladies Day.
But they didn’t have to bother trekking all the way to the famous racecourse for their fun day out.
Instead, they just popped along to the Froth ‘n’ Elbow!
The pub was happy to act as the venue for Dunstable’s own Alternative Ascot Ladies Day.
There was champagne and strawberries, televised racing and a raffle.
And they raised £1,300, for the Luton & Dunstable Hospital’s Macmillan Cancer Unit and the breast screening clinic nearby.
One of the fab females, Angie Satchell, told me: “We had this Ladies Day last year and it was so successful that we’ve done it again this year.
“We had an absolutely wonderful day.
“About 60 people turned out in the end, all in their beautiful hats, dresses and shoes. It was lovely.
“The outfits were really beautiful, we couldn’t get over it. They had really made an effort – they would have looked really beautiful in the Royal Enclosure.”
Ladies, we really have to take our hats off to you!
THE Norman King pub, in Dunstable, has been a forlorn sight since it was destroyed in an inferno.
Before it went up in flames, the look of the thatched building had an olde-worlde charm.
But thank you to John Buckledee, chairman of the Dunstable and District Local History Society, for bringing us all up to speed on a few facts and figures about the building.
It’s commonly labelled “a 12th century coaching inn”.
But he kindly wrote to the Gazette this week to say: “Well, some members of this society can remember attending the pub on its opening day, and we’re not THAT old!
“In fact, it was originally a stable attached to the old Kingsbury Farm.
“It didn’t become a pub until 1961 when Flowers Brewery converted the building.
“The brewery did a beautiful job, very much in keeping with the area, and we all very much hope that the present owners can restore it in the same style. The interior of the pub was poorly redesigned in 1984.
“The 12th century misconception arises because it stands on what is believed to be the site of King Henry I’s old palace, hence ‘Kingsbury’. No trace of the palace has yet been found.
“A farmhouse was on the land by the 16th century. It has had various uses and various conversions over the years, and the stables once housed the town’s museum and then became a riding centre.
“But a 12th century coaching inn? Never!”
So that’s set the record straight about the pub’s past.
Now let’s hope it’s not too long before the Norman King has a new future...
I JUST had to start “following” a quirky Dunstable character on Twitter.
Who is it? Brian, Twitter name @Brian_The_Koi. Cute.
His profile says: “I’m Brian. I’m a fish. A koi to be precise, you can find me swimming around with my fellow koi at Dunstable Aquatics. Likes spitting water & swimming.”
Oh for the simple life...