And finally… a glass act

If people are going to take glasses home from the pub anyway, why not make some nice commemorative glasses to raise money for a good cause?

From Saturday 26 October, 1,000 pubs across the UK – 10 of them in Yorkshire –  will serve drinks in limited-edition commemorative glasses for this year’s Poppy Appeal.

Marston’s and The Royal British Legion have partnered to create new poppy-themed glasses to raise vital funds for veterans.

Pint and half-pint glasses will be available to purchase, costing £2.50 and £2 respectively, with 100% of the profits going to The Royal British Legion.

Glasses will be available to purchase empty, as well as with drinks to be enjoyed in the cosy embrace of the boozer, before taking them home. You can probably sneakily shove them in your coat pocket for old time’s sake, even though you’ve paid up.

The poppy glasses are just one part of Marston’s “month to remember,” with pubs running awareness and fundraising events up and down the country.

The Royal British Legion is the country’s largest Armed Forces charity, with over 180,000 members. Since 1921, the charity has been dedicated to supporting serving and ex-serving veterans, as well as the wider Armed Forces community including dependants and carers.

Each year, the Poppy Appeal is launched to raise funds for The Royal British Legion ahead of Remembrance Sunday. In 2023, there was a 35% increase in the number of households requesting assistance, with RBL supporting 27,000 people and awarding more than £18m in grants.

Jared Sedgwick, director of operations at Marston’s, said: “Brits have been known to take glasses home with them from the pub, but this time we’re encouraging it! We’re so proud to be working in partnership with The Royal British Legion to give our customers another way to raise awareness and crucial funds for veterans, who are such a large part of the Marson’s community.”