Anyone know what has happened to?

[Lady Grey]

Anthony Collis perhaps? He was certainly a member here and was an aficionado of pub signs.

I think you are right. He certainly was an aficionado, I wonder what happened to him.

[Tris39]

There ended up being a bit of a turf war between them as they were competing to photograph all of Essex and then surrounding counties... John initially would do a photo from the front and the sign which was great. Graham started doing two from the front and the sign. Then John started doing three and it all got out of hand.

This must have been like Clint Eastwood facing off against Lee Van Cleef in a For a Few Dollars More.

Arthur Chappel?

If so, he recently posted onto the forum: https://forums.pubsgalore.co.uk/show...-Signs-Request

I recall he had an unnatural obsession with pub signs, shared by no one else.

[Mobyduck]

This must have been like Clint Eastwood facing off against Lee Van Cleef in a For a Few Dollars More.



I recall he had an unnatural obsession with pub signs, shared by no one else.

Apart from maybe PubSignMan.

[Pubsignman]

Hi all - I'm still here, but unfortunately work and other commitments have meant I've not had time to add any reviews for nearly a year now. My backlog got to the point where I was reviewing pubs over six months after I'd visited and it was continually growing, so I decided it was better to stop rather than continuing to plough on through loads of out of date reviews. I'm still ticking off new pubs, albeit at a slower rate than before - on about 80 for 2026 so far - and I'm hoping to make it to another PuG crawl, but they keep falling on dates I can't make or ending up in places I've recently been to!

[sheffield hatter]

My backlog got to the point where I was reviewing pubs over six months after I'd visited and it was continually growing, so I decided it was better to stop rather than continuing to plough on through loads of out of date reviews.

Hi Leigh. Glad you're still with us!

I had a huge backlog at one time. I used to add them to the pubs even if they were very old, as long as no one had written a review since my visit. I'd add a line to the end of the review, stating the date of the visit. Any that failed the test I would put a line through my notes and move on, perhaps noting that I needed to revisit. Nowadays I tend to write much shorter reviews while sitting in the pub, directly onto the site. These sometimes need an edit when I get home, or just on the train, but at least I don't create backlogs any more.

I hope you'll find time to continue adding your reviews soon.

[ROBCamra]

Hi all - I'm still here, but unfortunately work and other commitments have meant I've not had time to add any reviews for nearly a year now. My backlog got to the point where I was reviewing pubs over six months after I'd visited and it was continually growing, so I decided it was better to stop rather than continuing to plough on through loads of out of date reviews. I'm still ticking off new pubs, albeit at a slower rate than before - on about 80 for 2026 so far - and I'm hoping to make it to another PuG crawl, but they keep falling on dates I can't make or ending up in places I've recently been to!

Good to hear you're still around Leigh, Thanks for letting us know.

[Tris39]

...and I'm hoping to make it to another PuG crawl...

Don't think I've seen you on a crawl since Brighton in March 2018!

[Bucking Fastard]

I was in contact with Soup Dragon recently and prompted by my query confirmed that Andy Ven is still around if silent on the forum and not reviewing these days.He was pivotal in arranging the Black Country PuG Crawl on a hired minibus. Great day out.

[sheffield hatter]

Andy Ven is still around if silent on the forum and not reviewing these days.He was pivotal in arranging the Black Country PuG Crawl on a hired minibus. Great day out.

Yes, a great day out.

I had memories of it not being a minibus, but checking my photos taken on the day they turned out to be all of pubs (what a surprise!) and none of our transport. So I read the original thread and although it started out as a minibus trip, in the end there were so many takers that a larger vehicle was required. And then the coach firm did not have a midi-bus available to fit the 18 or 19 of us, so we ended up with full sized coach.

This was probably the best attended of all the Pubs Galore trips. Well done Andy for the idea and for arranging it.

[Strongers]

Yes, a great day out.

I had memories of it not being a minibus, but checking my photos taken on the day they turned out to be all of pubs (what a surprise!) and none of our transport. So I read the original thread and although it started out as a minibus trip, in the end there were so many takers that a larger vehicle was required. And then the coach firm did not have a midi-bus available to fit the 18 or 19 of us, so we ended up with full sized coach.

This was probably the best attended of all the Pubs Galore trips. Well done Andy for the idea and for arranging it.

It was a brilliant day full of great pubs, yam yams and pork puffs