Soul or Shrine?

The sixty or so Warriors supporters who made it to The Alma at Lowesmoor for the WWST quiz last week were mostly first timers at this most welcoming of drinking dens. The obvious exception to that rule being board member and quiz organiser Bob Low, who appears to run his Army Reservists from The Alma's bar rather than the barracks over the road at the old Vinegar Works.

The Alma has been trading for around 200 years; the vast majority of that time sharing it's name with two other Worcester pubs: The Alma on Mill Street (sadly now permanently lost) and The Alma in Barbourne (now the Alma Tavern and thankfully thriving after being resurrected in 2019.)

Readers may remember the Lowesmoor Alma under either of the names Pig & Drum or Toad & Tulip which it bore with gritted teeth for a good few years until 2019. This was the year it also reopened thanks to current landlord Sam Roberts and his team. Thankfully it is back under its original moniker.

The Alma is a proper rugby pub. Much of their wall space is dedicated to all things Worcester Warriors so, with the likes of Craig Gillies and Tevita Taumoepeau beaming down on us it seemed the perfect venue for an off-season get-together. Star of the night was, without doubt, Jonny Arr. He was an excellent quiz-master, refusing to be sidetracked by Bob's shenanigans. We were also extremely grateful for the time he gave to chat at length with many of the trust's members. The quiz went to the wire with eventual winners, the delightfully named "Jockstraps", prevailing by a single point over the "Witley Warriors". "TBC" came in third a few points back; at the time of writing we are still awaiting confirmation.

WWST took the opportunity of a jovial audience to hold an impromptu raffle. A big thank you to Rob Turner from another great rugby pub, The Crown Inn in St. John's and Richard Hobbs of Lake House Events for chipping in very generously with raffle prizes. One team, the infamous Black Pudding Breakfast Club, appeared to have cunningly skewed the raffle such that any available prize involving an alcoholic beverage was won by them. Official investigations into any potential misdemeanour have been thwarted due to the contents of bottles swiftly disappearing.

The money raised on the night will be going to a very special cause and one close to Jonny & Zoe Arr's hearts. "Wishes for Walter" is a fundraiser set up to support a local family in which a young boy has recently been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Thank you to the night's premier team for kindly donating their £60 winnings back to the pot. To learn more about Wishes for Walter or proffer a donation of your own please click on the picture.

Thought for the day

The name Alma comes from the Latin meaning nourishing or bountiful with the Spanish derivative El Alma meaning "Soul (of a living person)". With so much Warriors memorabilia on show, the Alma might be interpreted as being part of the soul of Worcester Warriors. I confess that, on Thursday night, it seemed more like a shrine than the soul of a living being but hopefully we can all continue to work together to change that situation.

Semper Bellator