Landlords and landladies are lucky people. How do your celebrate your pub's ale-selling centenary? Throw a massive beer festival.

And what better way to mark the anniversary of The Minster Inn, Marygate, than with a pint of green-coloured Sign Of Spring beer from Stonehenge Brewery.

It tastes better than you may think and landlady Sally Roberts promises that no moss from the ancient Salisbury Plain landmark has made its way into the brew.

She's just one in a long line of women who have run the historic boozer, famed for its ever-present world affairs discussion panel in the cosy bar room.

Sally says: "'It proves a good pub needs a good woman to keep everything under control. But my customers are lovely, I rarely have any trouble with them."

The festival, which begins today and continues through the Bank Holiday weekend, features a range of Yorkshire beers including favourites from Hambleton of Thirsk, Cropton of Pickering, Malton Brewery and Rudgate of Tockwith.

"We wanted to give a Yorkshire flavour to a traditional Yorkshire pub. We have picked this weekend because it was my first wedding anniversary on Thursday and my birthday on Friday," she says.

"We may have an Edwardian evening in November to commemorate the pub's official opening and hire an old-fashioned bus for a day out because this pub has a tradition of trips."

The Minster Inn has long been a Bar Talk favourite, and much deserved its Evening Press Pub Of The Year award a few years back.

Beer fans may find a visit to Marygate is well worth a journey this weekend - especially if you can leave the children with entertainment of their own in nearby Museum Gardens.

- Bosses at pint-sized pub The Blue Bell have come over all Mediterranean with a range of tapas dishes for peckish drinkers.

The tasty dishes are the brainchild of Sue Hardie who runs a tight ship at the Fossgate flagship boozer with husband Jim.

She spends hours preparing such delights as warm allioli potatoes, marinated sardines and anchovies with sweet roasted peppers in spiced garlic oil.

The prices are keen with bread starting at 50p and the most expensive dish weighing in at £3.50, but the high garlic content may take the shine off a romantic evening for two.

Mood lighting also seems to have arrived in the pub's backroom with candles replacing the former traditional flickering light bulb arrangement.

Bar Talk notes that all these treats certainly make a change - but whatever happened to a steaming mound of beef with Yorkshire pudding and gravy?

- THE colourful Jack Merry-go-round is whirling faster than ever after the affable landlord brought the Tap And Spile under his hefty wing.

Magistrates put wife Mel's name on a plaque above the door this week after the Merry family moved into the cavernous Monkgate pub.

Former landlord and fervent Scotsman Andy Mackay can now be found about 500 yards away at the Golden Slipper in Goodramgate, which is still sparkling after its recent refurbishment.

Jack now has four pubs under the Local Heroes company (including The Ackhorne, Golden Fleece and Edinburgh Arms) but, as he says, there is plenty of him to go round.

"We're looking to give the pub a new lease of life with a fresh menu, website and signage. Too many people walk past without realising what a gem this is.

"We've reduced the number of pumps to six so we can concentrate on a smaller number of great quality beers and there may well be some other changes in store," he added.

Whether those changes will include the introduction of Jack's fearsome range of home-made pickled eggs - we'll just have to wait and see.

Updated: 08:38 Saturday, May 24, 2003