Thetownend.com

After my Lloyds bar hype in an earlier post I thought I would continue my pubwatch with another new pub re-opening at the moment.

The Bell in old town (Fusion) has recently re-opened under new ownership.  A little change inside new furniture, pictures on the wall and are going to get 3 wide screen TV's in as well as a projector screen for the footy in the next week or so.  

They still have the same DJ booth half way down which plays a mixture of music on the weekends.  If you choose to sit near the doors the music is at a good enough level to still be able to chat to the people and obviously the closer to the booth the music gets louder.

The upstairs is going to be ran as a club on weekends (not sure on type of music) but will check it out when it opens, would be good to have somewhere else decent to finish in Old Town.  The owners own 3 other pubs 2 in Cheshire and 1 in Newbury and are top blokes who love there football.

Fred or Paul D they have said they would rent out the upstairs to you for trust meetings at lesser than you pay anywhere else.  So let me know if you want me to look into this.

I used to go in Fusion quite alot but it had become increasily dead as it closed down but these new owners want to make it as big as it was a few years ago when it was one of the most popular places to go in Old Town.

They are having there big opening night next Thursday on 14th June where everything should be in place screens, the upstairs etc, but are already open so feel free to pop in.  

So definitely worth checking out should be a good place to go plus there sponsoring my Sunday League team so I will give them shameless plugs wherever possible  :beers:

Are you on commission dave?

Boo!

Bring back the the old Bell..dodgey Hells angels,Acid and crazy yellow Speed.

think they are doing live bands in there as well...

 :D I wish, genuinely think it will be a good place to go.  The fact they are sponsoring us as well has made my view slightly biased tho.

It's not a bad sized room actually and the parking would be easier than at the GW.

Yes Rich could be good for your band if you are looking for a regular thing as they are looking for acoustic acts and bands at the moment.  If your interested can get the number for you if you like?

Yes definitely Sam its quite large and they would put someone behind the bar up there and when I enquired about it one of the owners said they would charge them half what they currently pay to rent somewhere.

Presumably they are changing the clientele too, as last time I was there about 2 yrs ago it was empty aside from mates of the barman who were leisurewear clad chavs.

What are drink prices like? How much for a pint?

Yes it got pretty dire at the end of the last owners spell in charge I used to go in quite alot and it was only ever the bar staff and his mates.  

I went in last Saturday for the first time under the new owners and it was pretty busy with a mixture of age groups and people so I think there going to push for it to be as good as it used to be back in the early days when it used to be really busy.

As I said in the first post the screens should be in over the next week or so and the upstairs will be finished in the same time period and there going for the grand opening as next Thursday so should be able to get a rough idea in the opening weeks whether it should be good again.  The owners seem good so I reckon they will do alright.

I am pretty sure its around £2.45-2.60 a pint so pretty standard Old Town prices.  They do £2 a bottle on selected beers.

You presume? Thats not good enough!! I want cold hard facts. Give me prices bitch!

My alcohol induced memory doesn't serve me well I think the first round came to £4.90 then I think I remember one at £5.20 so its definitely in that bracket but I wasn't very sober on Saturday  :beers:

Are there fit birds who look single that go there?

There were 2 hen do's in there on Saturday, not an abundance of stunners but couple of real lookers.  Only other time I have been in there this week there was a gorgeous blonde in there.  Too early to see if there will be any lovely regulars.

   :nod:

   I had many a happy hour in the old Bell, from the late 60's into early 70's, when the bar was upstairs.

   When I returned to Swindon, I went back there for a bit....it was OK, then Claude bought it and started knocking it about,  didn't bother with the bar and concentrated on the restaurant....so it went rapidly downhill getting a bad reputation for trouble.....I migrated never to return.

  Be handy for Trust meetings mind.

Do the GW charge for those meetings then?  I would have thought they'd be pleased for 50 people to come in and each buy a drink when it's normally dead in there on a Saturday morning, or winter's evening night.

I'd assume there is a charge, not sure though but with most function rooms there is a rental charge it may not always be that much due to the amount they will make on drinks but I believe there is normally a charge.  Can Fred or Paul D clarify?

Fusion used to be ace, especially on bank holidays. bbq, bungee jumps, sumo wrestling and fit birds....this was years and years ago. Went downhill from there, and be very surprised it'll be like it again.

Yeah i thought that it would have been free too. Some pubs would lay free food on just to get 50 odd people to come and have a meeting.

I remember Fusion putting on a massive screen (one of those multi block ones put together) for France 98.  Was a pretty good place to go back then and I think the owner at that time used it as his play thing (hence all the stuff he put on, which often got him fined).  Spent a small fortune on the place but it has certainly stagnated over the past 3 years or more.

Ah! That takes me back. The only pub I can remember that actually smelt of patchouli oil. I think they must have used it for furniture polish.

Anybody over 13 could get served in that place.

But a completely schizo set up what with it having a speed dealing biker bar at the front and a fairly posh french restaurant (Frogs?) out the back.

you could always try casbah mate.

cheeky git  :wink:

Dave

I looked into this sometime ago and spoke to Paul, but we felt
that we needed to move away from venues without wheelchair access.

Thanks for the thought though

Fair comment Fred there may be a way round this.  If it was on a morning for example we may be able to rent out the downstairs, I will make some enquiries to see what they say.

You really are on commission aint ya!   :soapy tit wank:

And the mad Froggie!

 Claude was a bit of a character.....anyone remember the stairs, well when he wanted to do some changes in the buildings structure including ripping out the stairs, he armed a motley crew of regulars with hammers and picks, at closing time and we set to,  ripping out walls and the stairs in return for a payment of more beer.

 I've been expecting to see the place fall down, but it just about seems to still be standing.

  Another source of fame was the carpet, to which you would stick if standing for too long in the same place.

I did a bit of work for him (sub-contract from another company) and the first time I walked in there he was in the kitchen preparing food.  The dog was laying out under his feet waiting for the scraps, he was smoking as he had his hand up a chicken, all the windows were open and the flies were coming in and a bird was flying around the kitchen as well.  Just after that the Adver did a piece on his food and restaurant and really rated it!!  If only they knew!!  I remember introducing myself as the drain inspector (which I wasn't) and he went white, after that we had a good laugh as he carried on preparing the food and having a bit of a lunchtime drink together!  I never filled the paperwork out, he didn't get an invoice but I never took up the offer of a free meal for two!

Quick update on the Bell Hotel front, they have put most stuff in now and hoping to have it all complete for tomorrow.  So this weekend they are having an official opening weekend (even tho its been open a while), special drink prices on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with it being £1.50 for a pint of Fosters and £1.50 for a pint of Bulmers.  With those kind of prices in Old Town I shall be knocking back a few this weekend  :beers:

Will it be £1 a pint for when we go in there after Footy on Sunday afternoons?

Oh and will we be playing our home games at Mannington? this would be ace as it's literally a 3 minute walk from my house.