The Bear’s Head donates plants to loyal customer

The Bear’s Head in Penarth has donated plants and shrubs from its high street display to loyal customer Irene Harries, who has been tending to the flowers as well as enjoying a morning bottomless coffee there for 26 years.

When the Windsor Road pub needed to replace its planters at the front of the venue, Irene and her friends, who visit daily for their morning coffee, said that they would be happy to take the old greenery and give them a new home.

The Bear’s Head management team loved this idea, and so transported the plants and shrubs to Irene’s nearby home and helped her plant them in her garden, so she can carry on tending to them.

Irene said: “It is part of our daily routine that we visit The Bear’s Head for a coffee and a natter after getting our chores and shopping done around the town, and we’ve always done a bit of dead heading, or watered the plants, when we could sit in the sun.

“So, when we were told by the manager Paul Rowberry-Iles that they were having to replace the planters, we didn’t want to see the old plants go to waste and Paul kindly said that we could have them. Not only that, but they also brought them to me and helped me plant them in my garden.”

Irene added: “The Bear’s Head is a true community pub and this gesture by the management shows how much they care about their customers, even those that pop in for a coffee.”

Paul Rowberry-Iles, manager of The Bear’s Head, said: “We love Irene and her friends Jenny Merritt and Sue Driscoll, who pop in every morning for a catch up and to have a chat with us. They bring cakes and Welsh cakes for us to share and are a welcome sight for us most mornings.

“Therefore, it was only natural that when we were thinking of replacing these plants, that the ladies who have tended to them on and off should benefit from them. And they look lovely in Irene’s garden too.”

The Bear’s Head is owned by Croeso Pubs Ltd, a Cardiff based pub companies that already has eight venues to its name, including The Discovery in Lakeside, Cardiff, the Blue Bell, Brewhouse, Retro and The Philharmonic in Cardiff’s city centre and The Dock in Cardiff Bay.

Croeso Pubs also has a great track record of breathing new life into venues. It took over the lease for The Philharmonic and reopened it in 2017 following a £1million refurbishment, transforming it into Cardiff’s most popular nightspot. It also took over former Brains’ pub 33 Windsor Place in December 2022 and reopened it as the music venue, Brewhouse.

For more information about Croeso Pubs Ltd and its venues, visit: https://croesopubsltd.co.uk/

Pics: Irene Harries and Libby Bressington from The Bear’s Head