Folkies may not know that Bob Copper was once the landlord (in the mid 50's) of the pub with England's shortest name -The 'H.H' Inn, Cheriton, Hampshire. HH stood for Hampshire Hunt, and the name is still on the building, long since converted to a private residence...indeed for a while it served as a Bat Hospital...yes that's right, when the injured nocturnals had flying accidents they were taken there to recover. It was in this beautiful area of Hamshire that Bob collcted some fine songs from some remarkable people and thus formed the basis of his book 'Songs and Southern Breezes'.

Sorry, I digress but I wonder how many 'oldest' and how many 'smallest' pubs there are in England? I've visited two that claim these distinctions...Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem (oldest, in Nottingham) and The Nutshell (smallest, in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk). Now let's wait for further claimants!