Alun and his wife Julie have just taken over behind the bar at The Southbrook Inn, on Southbrook Street, Swindon. Alun commented: “It’s great to be back, I’ve missed the business.” 
Alun first became an Arkell’s landlord in 1997 when he ran The Dolphin pub in Rodbourne for the brewery. He moved to run Arkell’s Wheatsheaf on Ermin Street, but was forced to take a year out after badly injuring his knee. When he was recovered, Arkell’s offered him the tenancy of The New Inn at Stratton, which he ran for over five years until 2010. Throughout his career Alun has been involved in speedway, retiring in 2002 after his knee injury. He became Team Manager at Swindon Robins the following year and under his watch the Robins have won numerous championships. Earlier this year the Swindon Robins won the Elite League Championship, defeating Wolverhampton Wolves. Alun has Swindon running through his veins. Brought up in Penhill, attending Penhill Infants and Junior Schools, the family moved to Bruce Street at Rodbourne, where he went to Westbourne School. For the past decade or so he and his family (His wife Julie and their four children, aged from four to ten), have lived in Stratton, Swindon. 
Alun continued: “Despite leaving The New Inn at Stratton, I’ve kept in touch with Arkell’s throughout. “In between managing the Robins, I’ve also been driving lorries and funnily enough I was driving an Arkell’s dray lorry the day the brewery bought the pub in 2015. So it feels great to now be back in charge.” “We’ll be offering a full, new menu after Christmas, including Sunday roasts, but in the run-up to the holiday season we will be offering a good, basic menu to our customers.” Alun and Julie are also planning to bring darts and pool back to the pub, and promote the big function room. Brewery managing director, George Arkell, said: “It’s fantastic to have Alun and Julie back with us. The Southbrook is a community pub and we can’t think of a better team to run it than a Swindon-born couple with loads of experience and friends across the town.” Photo credit: ©Calyx Picture Agency
