Pete Flynn bids farewell to the couple who ran a village pub for 10 years
The Red Lion, Northmoor is always a happy and buzzing place to be on a Sunday afternoon with locals and visitors alike, and it has become a destination pub well known for its hospitality, great local beers, and roast dinners with produce from the vegetable patch at the rear of the pub. When I’m visiting, I always look out for the eclectic and colourful range of hens which forage around the gardens when not resting in their impressive henhouse.
On this occasion it was tinged with sadness as I joined the throng of customers to bid farewell to this lovely family who have made the award-winning pub their home for the last 10 years.
“It is time for something new, but we don’t have any immediate plans,” Lisa Neale told me as a crowd gathered in anticipation of a presentation. Team Red Lion had made a huge effort since the pub became Community-Owned just over 10 years ago. Former owners Greene King, after years of under-investment, had left it in a shabby and neglected state with little hope of it being acquired by another pubco.
It was whilst working at a pub in Newbury that Lisa Lyne and Ian Neale met, but it was in Northmoor – off the A415 Witney to Abingdon road – where they married and started their family with delightful daughter Molly; what an enviable way to start married life. The legacy of the pandemic and rising utility costs have culminated in the couple facing huge challenges and so the quest for a fresh start beckons.
Shareholders and locals alike raised a sizeable sum for them to be spent on a voucher for a luxury weekend in London, and presented them with a lovely painting by a local artist of St Denys church, next to the pub and its original owner, where they got married. They also received a bouquet of flowers.
Shareholder Graham Shelton led the many plaudits to this remarkable couple and praised the local community and shareholders for their support over the last 10 glorious years. As I looked around the crowded pub it was evident that the occasion was an emotional one, as Lisa and Ian accepted generous and heartfelt thanks from all that were there.
Talking to a few of the regulars I discovered there had been a farewell party the night before, with a number of regulars appearing somewhat hung over. A pop-up Thai food truck provided tasty offerings with live music from a local band adding to the occasion. The pub was extremely busy and former staff came to bid them farewell too, and to drink the pub dry.
Clearly, Ian and Lisa are a talented couple endorsed by winning The Muddy Stilettos Award, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire (2022) for the best destination pub, and many other awards including several years in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide. I hope that Lisa and Ian continue in the hospitality sector, as it will be very fortunate customers who will benefit from their warmth, determination, and generosity of spirit.
As they prepare to move on, let’s raise a virtual glass to the Red Lion and wish them well in their future life.
- The pub is currently closed as the search for new tenants continues.