'COME and sit on the landlord's hand," could be the cheeky advertising slogan at the Grey Horse, Elvington. But even that would not sum up how well landlord Bob Sykes' latest bar stool acquisition has gone down with regulars and visitors.

The Indonesian hands, bought from somewhere as exotic as a Walmgate furniture store in York, provide a pleasant and novel comfort in the welcoming boozer.

The village watering hole, which was an important point of community focus during last month's floods, is now fully stocked and ready to keep locals happy.

During the floods, beer and customers could only arrive by boat, but now things are back to normal and the bar stools have returned to their usual position of prominence.

The Grey Horse, run for just over a year now by former electrician Bob, 46, and Hazel, is adorned with as much nonsense on the walls as any pub you could wish to visit. There is an enormous collection of clocks, including one of the cuckoo variety and a British Rail-issue timepiece. Not to mention the cam shafts from aeroplanes, a book of pub favourites on the piano, an electronic dartboard and slogans about Yorkshiremen.

A swear box that profanes when you drop money in it adds to the sense of fun in an entertaining pub.

A pensioners' special, established during the floods, takes place on Friday and there are quizzes during the week as well as darts, dominoes, and quiz teams.

And the latest entertainment for the regulars is the new honky-tonk/boogie-woogie piano nights with Karl Mullen on "as many Fridays as possible".

Bar staff range in age from 18 up to the 77-year-old Gordon Ingleby, "part of the fixtures and fittings".

Add to that a mad dog called Bruce and a hand-shaped ashtray to go with the bar stools, and you have the perfect little village boozer.

u BAR Talk fully supports reader Keith Crane's campaign to reinstate Yorkshire Terrier at the Golden Ball in York.

The award-winning York Brewery ale was selling well at the Bishophill boozer until owner the Unique Pub Co pulled the plug.

Mr Crane, of Hartoft Street, York, has forwarded this column copies of the strongly-worded letters he sent last month to Unique and to supplier Inntrepreneur Supplyline, condemning the decision.

He writes to Unique: "You are certainly operating against the trend of offering increasing customer choice and I also find it sad that a local publican is unable to support a new brewing enterprise just half a mile away from his premises."

Unique has said that landlord Don Butler is free to buy Terrier as his guest ale, but in reality he has little choice but to stock John Smith's.

This is typical of the problems York Brewery boss Tony Thomson faces in trying to get his locally crafted ale into local pubs.

In reality his only chance of giving Golden Ball drinkers a taste of York Terrier is through the Small Independent Brewers Association. The Golden Ball can choose from a range of SIBA ales quarterly.

There is proven customer demand for Yorkshire Terrier. The action of Unique stifles consumer choice.

It is such a shame that a pub group will remove landlords' freedom to give their regulars what they want. Unfortunately in this regard, Unique isn't unique.

u IS your local having a Christmas blow-out? Are you preparing to cover yourself with mistletoe, hang around and see what happens at your favourite boozer's fancy dress party?

Then let Bar Talk know. We will happily publicise imaginative seasonal pub events, and print any embarrassing photographs taken at said events.

So landlords and regulars, sober up, give us a bell on (01904) 653051 ext 337, and claim your moment in the Bar Talk spotlight.