Barmaid thanks pub regulars as fundraising goal met

Kelly Lane at the Hop & Vine
-Credit: (Image: Hop & Vine)


A barmaid from one of the region's smallest pubs, the Hop & Vine, is celebrating her regulars who have helped her surpass a personal fundraising milestone for the Stroke Association.

Kelly Lane initially aimed to raise £200 by walking 60 miles in October, a challenge that would earn her a medal to show her father-in-law, who suffered a severe stroke earlier this year.

However, thanks to the patrons at the Hop & Vine, Kelly exceeded her financial goal less than halfway through the month. She now aims to raise as much as possible and hopes to gain support from a broader base of backers.

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Kelly said: “My motivation is that my father in law had a major stroke in May. He’s just turned 89. He’s always been an active man. He ran a catering business for most of his life and one day he’d been chopping logs for the fire, gardening and cooking but then he went shopping and collapsed and his entire world changed.

“He can’t speak, he has no movement on his right side and you can see the frustration in his face. I was looking at Facebook one night and I came across the challenge so I decided to join in to raise vital funds to help rebuild lives after stroke.”

Using an app to count her steps throughout the day, Kelly, who stands at just 5ft 5in tall, has calculated she needs to accumulate more than 138,000 steps to reach 60 miles. Her daily commute from her home in Hull to the pub on Albion Street covers just over three miles, and she adds more than a mile when she walks to her mother's house.

Kelly has to walk down eight steps to start her shifts in the Hop & Vine, and up them again when she’s finished, but as the basement bar is so tiny, with seats for about 30 people, there’s not much walking involved in serving and collecting glasses.

She shared: "We get busy with visitors from out of town who know where we are and we have a great bunch of regulars – they’ve all been very generous and I’m really grateful to them.

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“Some people might remember the Hop & Vine from lockdown when it became known for the world’s smallest beer garden with just two seats! Others will know us for being named CAMRA Pub of the Year in Hull for 2023 and again this year.

“But it’s such a small place, hidden away at the bottom of the steps, and we don’t get big crowds of people in every day so I’m trying to reach a wider audience.”

Over the years, Kelly has participated in various fundraising runs for Cancer Research and completed her first 10k this year.

Donations are being collected in a jar on the bar and through her JustGiving page. She said: "I’m looking forward to receiving my medal to show my father-in-law and I’ll keep collecting until the campaign closes in December so hopefully more people will support me."

Tony Garrett, landlord of the Hop & Vine, praised Kelly's efforts, saying: "My elder brother had a stroke shortly after lockdown and most people will know someone who has experienced first-hand the debilitating effects of that. Kelly is doing a great job of raising awareness."

“In supporting the Stroke Association’s campaign we’ve found out it only takes £50 to help fund research to find new ways to help stroke survivors with communication difficulties, and £150 could help pay for research into new stroke treatments. I’ve passed £250, which could pay for one hour of Helpline activity, helping the families of stroke survivors support their loved ones after stroke. It’s easy to see how small donations can mount up to make a big difference.”

To support the campaign visit https://www.justgiving.com/ and search for Kelly’s page

or just call in at the Hop & Vine in Albion Street.