The Blue Bell Inn

08/11/2026

🌺 REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY – WE WILL REMEMBER THEM 🌺

Today, on Remembrance Sunday, we pause to remember and honour the brave men and women who served, sacrificed and gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today.

Over the years, The Blue Bell Inn has enjoyed a close and proud relationship with our Armed Forces. Our walls are adorned with military plaques, Royal Navy cap tallies and memorabilia, each with its own story, representing the friendships, traditions and connections we hold dear.

For me, Remembrance Sunday is also deeply personal.

My grandfather, Lieutenant Thomas Colquhoun Babb, Royal Naval Reserve, and my father, Thomas Michael Babb, British Army, both served their country. Their service is something I remember with enormous pride.

Here in Emsworth, with Portsmouth’s proud Royal Navy heritage on our doorstep and our strong military connections at Thorney Island, the Armed Forces have always been an important part of our community and our history.

The Blue Bell has always been more than just a pub. It is a place where stories are shared, friendships are forged and generations are remembered. We are immensely proud of our military connections and of all those who have walked through our doors wearing their uniform.

Today, we remember those who never came home, those who returned forever changed, and the families who made sacrifices of their own.

We also remember the countless animals who served alongside our Armed Forces. From the horses that carried soldiers into battle, to the dogs, pigeons and other animals whose courage, loyalty and service saved countless lives. Their sacrifices must never be forgotten.

We remember with pride, gratitude and respect.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

🌺💜 Lest We Forget. 💜🌺

Royal British Legion National Service Animals Monument Royal Navy British Army Royal Air Force Emsworth Business Association Emsworth Residents Forum

02/11/2026

🍷 Missing The Blue Bell and our w**e list? 🎄

We know you’re missing us being open, and we’re certainly missing welcoming you in for a glass or two!

We’re proud of our fantastic w**e range, curated by The W**e Whisperer alongside some of Giles’s personal favourites like akitu in our Cellar Selection. While the pub doors remain closed, why not join us for our annual Festive W**e Fair at Tuppenny Barn Organics ? 🥂

Sample over 100 w**es, including fabulous local w**es from Hambledon W**e Estate and some great w**es from Mentzendorff & Co Alliance W**e discover new favourites and find the perfect bottles for Christmas dinner, presents and festive get-togethers. There’ll be some great deals to help stock your w**e rack, too!

Even better, all ticket proceeds support Tuppenny Barn’s latest building project, helping create a new community café, organic shop and additional learning and training spaces. A lovely evening out supporting a charity that does so much for children, vulnerable people and our wider community. Emsworth Business Association Monster Creative

📅 Thursday 12th November 2026
🕖 7–9.30pm
📍 Tuppenny Barn, Main Road, Southbourne, PO10 8EZ
🎟️ £9 each or £15 for two

🚌 Leave the car at home and make an evening of it the Stagecoach Bus 700 is a handy option for getting to and from the venue. Please check the timetable when planning your journey.

Book your tickets here 👇
https://tuppennybarn.co.uk/event/festive-w**e-fair-thursday-12th-november/ -tickets__tickets-form

Bring a friend and come and raise a glass with us. We’d love to see some familiar Blue Bell faces! 🍷

Giles & The Blue Bell team

12/10/2026

Finally, some visible progress at The Blue Bell Inn!

The scaffolding is up, Bio Response have started the clearance work, and we’re another step closer to getting our beloved pub back on its feet!

It’s been a frustrating time , and things are certainly moving slower than we’d like, but progress is progress!

Still plenty to do, but it’s good to see things finally happening.

One step at a time, we’ll get The Blue Bell back doing what it does best , serving great food, pouring proper pints and welcoming you all through the doors again! 🍺⚓

Thank you all for your continued patience, messages and support. It really does mean a lot. 💙

Slowly but surely, we’ll be back! Emsworth Business Association Emsworth Loves Local Emsworth Residents Forum The News, Portsmouth The Village Magazine Hampshire Fare Hampshire Life BBC South Hampshire Media Group

08/10/2026

✨ A LITTLE BIT OF SUPPORT FOR POOK LANE 🐴❤️

I’m going to ask you all for something a little different today… 🥹💕

If you see a Pook Lane post come up on your feed, please leave a little comment rather than just scrolling past or leaving a like.

It really does make such a difference. ❤️

Pook Lane isn’t just a business to me. It’s something I’ve put my heart, time, money, hard work and so much love into. 🐴

It’s something I’ve dreamed about for years, and seeing families, children and our lovely regulars enjoying themselves here with our ponies makes all the hard work completely worth it. 🥹💕

But being a small, family-run riding centre means we rely so much on word of mouth and social media to reach new people.

Facebook doesn’t always show our posts to everyone who follows us, and comments help massively with getting our little corner of Pook Lane seen by more people. 🫶🏼

So if you see one of our posts, please…

🐴 Leave a ❤️
💬 Say hello
👩‍👧 Tag a friend
🐎 Tell us your favourite Pook Lane pony
📖 Tell us if you’ve visited us before
✨ Or simply leave a little emoji!

It might only take a few seconds for you, but to my little business, it genuinely means so much. ❤️

And to every single person who already likes, comments, shares, books, recommends us, brings their children here or simply follows along with what we get up to…

Thank you. Truly. 🥹❤️

You’re not just supporting a business — you’re helping me keep alive something I’ve dreamed about for a very long time.

Thank you for being part of Pook Lane. 🐴🌊❤️

Now… let’s see how many of you are actually reading this! 👀👇🏼💕

08/10/2026

Football has been part of my life for as long as I can remember as a Pompey fan, player, coach and through grassroots football. Now I’m asking that football community to get behind something bigger than the game.

This October I’m taking on Prostate Cancer UK United, walking 10K every day 310km in total to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer.

I’ve seen close friends face this disease, some thankfully overcoming it after catching it early.

I signed up before the devastating loss of my friend and boyhood hero, Pompey legend Alan Knight MBE. Knightsie was Pompey’s all-time No.1, but more importantly a true gentleman. Even during his illness, he spoke openly to raise awareness and help other men.

So I’ll walk for the dads, brothers, teammates and mates affected by prostate cancer and especially for Knightsie.

10K a day. 31 days. 310km. One common opponent.

For the football family. For Knightsie. Play Up Portsmouth Football Club Emsworth Town Football Club Emsworth Town Y F C Community Emsworth Cricket Club

Emsworth publican takes on 310km Prostate United challenge in memory of Pompey legend Alan Knight

08/10/2026

08/10/2026

08/10/2026

27/09/2026

Important Announcement 📣

It’s been more than ten weeks since we last poured you a b**r or cooked you one of our amazing dishes at The Blue Bell. We’ve missed the bustle of the bar, the food leaving the kitchen and, most of all, seeing all of you.

Watching the summer pass while our doors have been closed has been incredibly frustrating. We know many of you have been asking when we’ll reopen, and we wish we could give you a date. We’re still working with the insurers to move the repairs forward.

But visible progress should be made this week as scaffolding is erected and clearance is started . Once the kitchen roof is stripped, we’ll have a clearer picture of the damage . Replacing damaged catering equipment may take time too, so we don’t want to promise a date we can’t yet stand behind.

We haven’t forgotten what makes The Blue Bell special, Great b**r, great food, great times! and we can’t wait to welcome you back. Thank you for every message and every bit of support. We’ll keep you updated as the work progresses.

Giles and all the team at The Blue Bell 🍻
Love British Food Love Your Pub ®️ Emsworth Business Association Emsworth Loves Local Emsworth Residents Forum The News, Portsmouth BII Cask Marque CAMRA Coas⚓️line SaferFood Company Entrepid.co.uk Portsmouth’s Express FM