The Annual General Meeting of the branch was held on Saturday 14th June in The Lowther Club in Whitehaven. Chairman Keith Earnshaw stepped down and Phil Wolstencroft was duly elected.

Phil joined CAMRA in the 1980s and was previously active in the North Cheshire branch, before retiring from a senior management position with Jaguar Landrover and relocating to rural Cumbria.

Phil is a bit of an authority on real ales from far and wide in the UK as he regularly travels around the country.

Phil also serves as CAMRA Brewery Liason Officer for Ennerdale Brewery.

Phil is pictured here on the left with branch website editor Hugh Price, at the sponsors’ session of the recent Keswick Beer Festival in the marquee at Keswick Rugby Club and at which the branch sponsored a barrel of beer.

The next branch meeting will be held at the Castle Bar in Cockermouth at 2pm on Saturday 16th August. It is to be hoped that by that time, Mark will be producing in-house beer at the nearby Bitter End pub on Kirkgate, which no doubt members will visit later that day.