It is the best-loved pub in East Oxford – a firm favourite among fans of good beer and fabulous food. But The Chester is more than just a great bar – it is an institution at the heart of its community: a proper ‘local’, loved by regulars and new visitors alike.

So when owners Beccy Webb and Hamzah Taynaz heard of the plight of friends whose children were receiving treatment for cystic fibrosis, they jumped into action, doing what they do best: organising a knees-up!

The couple chose to hold another of their popular beer festivals, but this time give the proceeds to The Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the local team who have helped the children, through the Oxford Hospitals Charity.

Being The Chester, of course, this is not your standard pub beer festival with just a few casks and a limp sausage. For their epic five-day Easter Bank Holiday spectacular, now underway, they are stocking about 45 cask and keg beers and ciders, while Hamzah will man a barbecue, veggie grill and hog roast. There will also be a raffle with some eye-popping prizes.

The appeal was prompted by five year-old twins Sonny and Harrison Styles , from Upper Heyford, whose parents John and Jenna are friends of Beccy and Hamzah. The boys have to undergo daily physio and spend lengthy periods of time in hospital.

“We just want to raise awareness of the disease along with a load of money for this worthy cause that is particularly close to our hearts here at The Chester,” says Beccy.

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“CF is a hidden disease. Since deciding to help the charities, so many people have told us about their own experiences of it.

“This is our way of showing support for John and Jenna and everyone else who is dealing with the disease.”

She adds: “This will be the sixth beer festival at The Chester. They get more and more popular. An early one was so popular we were drunk out of beer – but we’ve got so much this time that won’t happen this weekend, no matter how many people come down!”

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The beers include local favourites from Abingdon’s Loose Cannon, Shotover, Botley’s Tap Social, North Cotswold from Stretton on Fosse, Long Crendon’s XT Brewing Company, Aylesbury’s Vale Brewery and White Horse Brewery in Faringdon. There will also be brews to sip from as far away as Manchester along with craft lagers from the likes of Beavertown and Bristol’s Wiper and True.

Oxford Mail:

Cheers: Beccy and Hamzah

And if you want to come out looking more beautiful than before you went in (maybe!), you can sample Collagin – a groundbreaking gin containing collagen developed by the Young In Spirits company – and first seen on TV’s Dragon’s Den. Company founders Camilla Brown and Liz Beswick have pledged a proportion of all sales to the charities.

A fundraising raffle includes prizes donated by locals, friends and supporters. They include a new iPhone XR, an £800 lounge makeover, a day at the races and tickets to see Madness, a Champagne supper at the Isis, dinner at Arbequina, Jam Factory or Branca, hair and beauty sessions, massages and a load of drink – donated by Hamzah and Beccy themselves.

“It’s going to be a great weekend,” laughs Beccy. “Come and get merry for a good cause!”

* The Chester Beer & Cider Festival runs at The Chester, 19 Chester Street, Oxford, until, and including, Monday.