The Plough, Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire

The first time I popped in for a pint at The Plough in Bruntingthorpe, the place was so busy that taking photos was simply out of the question. This was a Sunday afternoon, a quiet time for many rural pubs.

It wasn't so long ago that the ritual of the pre-Sunday Lunch pint (often followed by the Sunday afternoon session) was almost universally supported, albeit mostly by men of course! But as we all know, the steady weekly traditions of pub-going have been seriously eroded in more recent times, so much so that many rural pubs are now barely ticking over on what was once one of the most sociable drinking days of the week.

So despite the slight inconvenience to my photographic interests, it's great to see a pub like The Plough as busy as this, particularly on a Sunday afternoon in the depth of winter time. But then take a look at the picture below and it's easy to see why the Plough's regulars wouldn't want to be anywhere else on a cold Sunday afternoon.

The Games Room at the Plough features Pool, Darts, and a well used and well maintained Skittles Table which sees service in the Dunton Bassett Skittles League and Dunton Basset Ladies Skittles League.

The impressive array of trophies in the bar of the pub include the three turned Mahogany 'cheeses' shown below for 'Player of the Season', 'Most Improved Player', and a 'Wooden Spoon' for an individual team player. It's not uncommon to find that additional trophies like these have been presented, particularly where pub games play is still popular and well supported at a pub. Lilacs of Isham had a similar trophy for example.