Victoria Bar on Victoria Road, Glasgow, has set up the Big Night In online fundraising event to raise funds for Maggie’s Centres cancer care in memory of beloved regular, Claire Hamilton.

Taking place virtually via the pub’s Facebook page on Saturday 13th February, the fundraiser will include music from local singer Karl Byrne, as well as raffles throughout the night. All proceeds will be added to the total raised by Claire’s daughter Erin Coyle, who is taking part in Maggie’s Glasgow Run 50 Miles fundraising challenge. Pub operator Annie Kane, who has been running Victoria Bar for ten years, organised the virtual event as a way to pay tribute to Claire and bring the community together to interact and pay their respects in the current national lockdown.

The pub is owned by Hawthorn, the community pub company, which owns more than 700 pubs across Scotland, England and Wales.

A true champion of her community, Annie was nominated for a Heart of the Community Award 2020 by the British Institute of Innkeeping for her work in raising over £7000 for a number of different charities in 2019. Prior to the pandemic, she held regular parties at the pub to bring the community together, and also took regulars to the races throughout the year.

Annie said: “Victoria Bar is a proper community pub, our regulars are what makes it a success and we have become part of each other’s lives, so we have to support them. We were extremely saddened by Claire’s passing and wanted to help in any way possible, and with the pub currently shut we wanted to bring the community together virtually to get people interacting and talking again. Many of our regulars live on their own and our pub community is a lifeline for them, so this is an opportunity for everyone to come together to raise a glass to Claire and to raise as much money as possible for a worthy cause.”

If you would like to donate to the Big Night In, please visit Victoria Bar’s Facebook page here.