Local Chum regulars Kit and Phil did a cracking job with the 2015 Cholmondeley Charity shoot in April. The event attracted a great deal of support and with fair weather was a great success with the shoot raising a record £3600 split equally between the Air Ambulance and Hope House with £1800 each. The charity shoot is an annual event so do join us in 2016. A big well done to Kit and Phil and all the rest of the locals with Jess and the Chum team for all their hard work!

Tuesday Evening saw Professor Ted’s quiz final at the Cholmondeley Arms, with over 12 teams battling to win.

Every month the winning quiz teams are awarded points to join the leader board, the season runs from October to April. At the final quiz of the season double points are awarded to the top 5 teams. There were four teams that were all in contention to be crowned leader board champions.

After a very exciting quiz, the scores were announced… The winners of Tuesdays quiz were a new team, despite their best efforts they were unable to budge the ‘Four Candles’ from the top of the leader board. Each team member won a £20 voucher and the whole team won a gin tasting.

We look forward to seeing you at the ‘Ted to Head’ on May 27th at the Three Greyhounds in Allostock…

For the second time in less than a year the Daily Telegraph Travel section has put the Cholmondeley Arms in the top ten places to bring your dog this time we are featured in the Top Ten Hotels around the UK.

Top 10: the best pet-friendly hotels in Britain

The best dog-friendly hotels in Britain, featuring the top places to stay for coastal walking routes, cosy fires, pet-friendly restaurants and in-room dog beds, in locations including the Lake District, New Forest and Yorkshire Dales.

Cholmondeley Arms, Cheshire

This former Victorian schoolhouse-turned-inn is as stylish as Beau Brummell inside. The glorious carved oak bar dominates the main hall and apart from the malted charms of Cholmondeley Best Bitter and Merlin’s Gold, there are a staggering 200 varieties of ruinously good gin to discover. Your faithful friend will not go thirsty either, as dog beer (made from meat stock) is readily available. Food is hearty and delicious and rooms in the old headmaster’s house behind the inn are calm, civilised and comfortable. Three of them are dog-friendly, and dog beds are supplied too.

We are sorry to announce that our loyal gardener and occasional raconteur Johnny O’Shea has passed away after a long illness. Johnny will be fondly remembered by us all here at the Cholmondeley Arms. In the summer when the beautiful roses grow around the ‘Chum’ we will think of Johnny and all the time he spent making everything look so beautiful.

Many visitors to Cholmondeley will remember Johnny and the stories he would tell over a ‘wee dram’. He was once asked where do you want to be in ten years and his answer was simply to be in the Cholmondeley Arms with a smile.

Johnny raced Greyhounds and at the opening of our Three Greyhounds Inn pub Johnny and his wife Anne made the trip specially from Cholmondeley with three real greyhounds to help us celebrate the opening.

God bless you Johnny, Cholmondeley won’t ever be the same without you.

For four long months ITV have been filming down the road in Bunbury and the crew and cast have stayed with us here at the Chum in our Headmasters House bedrooms. They have enjoyed relaxing at the pub and dining with a very occasional Gin and Tonic after a very hard day’s work on set.

Where else would they chose for their ‘it’s a wrap’ party than the Cholmondeley Arms and a marquee went up for the whole cast and crew to enjoy a little Christmas cheer early and finally relax after a job well done!

Bunbury had been the setting for the six-part Second World War drama ‘Home Fires’, starring Francesca Annis and Samantha Bond and produced by ITV Studios. It tells how members of the Women’s Institute hold the fabric of society together while their menfolk are away fighting.

Filming began in September and continued until December, with some of the villagers appearing as extras.

With a screenplay by Simon Block, who penned shows including Lewis and Casualty, the drama is inspired by Julie Summers’ book ‘Jambusters’ and is set to air on screens sometime in 2015.

Bunbury residents were informed of the news by leaflets posted through their doors explaining how their village would be affected by the filming, and also giving them the opportunity to feature in the show as extras.

Steve November, ITV’s director of drama, said: “We’re really delighted to have commissioned ’Home Fires’. Great writing from Simon has given Julie Summers’ wonderful book a fictional life.

“The women are real and engaging and have fantastic spirit and attitude. With World War II on the horizon, multiple strands of plot interweave to create a period drama full of jeopardy and intrigue, but also great humanity and modernity.”