THE famous poet William Blake once said: “A good local pub has much in common with a church, except that a pub is warmer, and there’s more conversation.”

And now The Saints Pub in Millbrook has used its warm interior and church-like status in the local area, as Monday saw it kickstart its ‘Saints Pub Warm Hub’ initiative.

The brand-new scheme that will run weekly, was set up by landlord, Andy Slack, 47, and partner, Gemma, 37, as the pub’s events room transforms into a warm hub for the local community to keep warm and socialise, as the cost-of-living crisis persists.

Andy, who has been landlord of the popular Southampton pub since October 2022, told The Echo: “We wanted to give back to the local community because many people are struggling financially at the moment.

Daily Echo:

“Millbrook is a close-knit community, and the pub is at the heart of that.

“We sat down and said, ‘what can we do to help those that are struggling?’

“We've got the events room, we've got an open fire, we've got heating, we're not charging anything for it, we're not making a penny from it.

“We'll put tea and coffee on, and we've got soup that we can dish out at lunchtime.

“It’s for those that are on their own or can't afford to have the heating on all day.

“Here is somewhere where they can come and get warm and know that they've got help if they need it.”

Attending Monday’s gathering was local carer, Janine Chell, who gave up her own time to chat to anyone looking for company.

Janine said: “This is for people in need. I can relate to them being a carer, so I can advise them on anything.

“I’ll be here every Monday and I’m happy to chat to anyone.”

Landlord, Andy is determined to do good and change the perceived reputation of the area.

He said: “I’ve lived here three years and I love it.

“It's had the wrong reputation for a long time and that's certainly what outsiders see, but it’s not the case so we want to change that.”

The warm hub is open from 10am to 3pm through the winter months. 

For more information, visit www.thesaintspub.co.uk