AUGUST 2007
        
        24th

          Today Reg Little at the Oxford Times has written a wonderful tribute to Tex. Thank you.

        19th

OBITUARY

             The Rose and Crown as featured on UKPubfinder.com.

             It's our 9th birthday, (we've been the tenants for 24years!) .. we will not celebrate, as it was on this day that Punch 
purchased the freehold {without our knowledge} of the Rose and Crown in 2000! Why does a big company like Punch want to be involved 
in a small run down Oxford back-street public house and cause so much grief?!

        20th
        The Morning Advertiser's John Harrington writes:   
         The cost for pubs of appealing against any licence condition, or refusal to vary a licence, will rise from £75 to £400
from 1 October.
          The original suggestion was that the £400 fee would only apply to appeals against licence refusals. But Minister for Justice -
Jack Straw has confirmed that it will apply to any appeal to magistrates relating to a pub's licence.
          Residents, police and other responsible authorities will only have to pay £75 to appeal after plans were dropped to increase
fees for them to £400.
          MA legal editor Peter Coulson said: "This is bound to deter ordinary licensees from appealing to the magistrates against what 
they see as an unfair condition. It plays into the hands of those authorities who have already been criticised for being condition-happy 
- they will be strengthened in their view that the government is on their side and against the licensed trade."
"The size of the increase, too, seems most unreasonable, although it is based on a report that looked at the costs of running the appeal 
system in the magistrates."
"It is ironic that after protests from certain quarters that the huge fee would deter objectors from appealing, the fee was changed for 
them, but not for the trade."
British Beer & Pub Association director of pubs and leisure Martin Rawlings said: "This is the latest from the Ministry of In-justice."
"Either they are fining the industry or subsidising public bodies. It's not equitable."
Michael Brightman, lessee of the Patriots Arms in Chiseldon, Wiltshire, said: "Rather than charging the true costs, it seems more like 
a penalty for appealing."
Straw confirmed the start date and fees in a written statement to the MA. The decision followed a consultation that ended in May.

          17th
                Rarely do I laugh when reading the Morning Advertiser, but today Adam Jones (does he live near Oxford?,.. think 
I’ve met him??) amused me with this paragraph!

                We're getting whiffs of fear and resignation
                A small paragraph in a national paper last week claimed that nine out of 10 restaurant-goers were scared of wine 
waiters and would rather drink a disgusting bottle of wine than send it back. 
                 This is old news to most licensees. In the latter half of the last century the average glass of alcoholic grape juice 
sold by most pubs was so poor that it did much to recommend the consumption of battery acid. The dreadful plonk was dispensed 
from warm bottles housed in a back-lit, faux-wood, glass-fronted case. 
             Ordering the stuff, particularly if one tried to be clever and request, for example, a glass of Chardonnay or Claret, 
was met with a dull stare. You were given unknown New World red or white. The act of drinking it was taken as a sign that you 
were a big girl's blouse, while just thinking about sending it back was the deranged thought of a suicidal madman.
             It is no wonder the British public is still frightened of those who serve the grape.

            Memories. My late mother, Muriel, was a 'preferred wine' drinker. Some of her tales are clearly echoed in this eloquent
piece by ADAM JONES. Thankfully, WE (the industry and the ROSE and CROWN) have moved forward  ...
                                                ... CHAMPAGNE buy the glass now and it's chilled!!!

            16th
        Today,there was an obituary for Tex in the OXFORD MAIL.

       10th
            It is with great sadness that I inform you of the death, in the early hours of Wednesday, August 8th, of Clarence 
“Tex” Walker. He died in the John Radcliffe Hospital at Oxford.
            Tex is an American musical legend, as lead singer with two rock and roll supergroups, The Drifters and The Coasters.
            Tex had lived in Oxford for some time.
            In 2004 he went back to the United States, returning to Oxford in early June to be close to his greatest friend, Ann.
            R.I.P. Tex.

            To contact Ann - send her an email.

JULY 2007

Flashback to JULY 24th 2006
          It was this day that we learned of  "...the sudden death of our beloved and dear friend BARRY SIMPSON.

          Miss you loads!                       ... one from the repertoire!!

          A man takes his Rottweiler to the vet. 
          "My dog's cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him? " 
          "Well," says the vet, "let's have a look at him" 
          So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then checks his teeth. 
          Finally, he says "I'm going to have to put him down." 
          "What? Because he's cross-eyed? "