How many potatoes for that pint, bartender?

An English pub has taken to trading fresh produce and hunted game for beer.

Punters at a village pub have developed an ingenious way of beating the credit crunch without compromising on their daily pint.

Thrifty punters have begun bartering home-grown produce in exchange for beer and even pub meals.

Various items of fresh fruit, fish, meat and vegetables have been exchanged, with the amount of pints, meals or vouchers offered linked to the size, quantity and quality of the items presented.

A sign placed inside the pub says: 'If you grow, breed, shoot or steal anything that may look at home on our menu, then bring it in and let's do a deal.'

So far pints have been swapped in place of potatoes, mackerel and a kilo of fresh fruit.

Locally shot rabbits, pheasants and pigeons have also been exchanged for beer.




The Pigs pub, in Edgefield, near Holt, Norfolk, even encourages locals to contribute to its traditional food menu in return for free alcohol.

Manager Cloe Wasey, 24, said the offer has taken off as people have started to feel the pinch financially.

'We've been doing it for almost two years now but the success of it has only just recently started to boom with the credit crunch setting in,' she added.

'People need to find different ways to go out and this helps.

'It's also great for us because we get produce at a good price, although we have high standards so the food we get in has to meet those.

'We find the home grown stuff is often much better than what we can get from the suppliers.

'Someone will say "that rabbit tasted great" and we say 'here, meet the person who shot it".'

Sounds like a really good idea to me! In fact, I have a thought . . .

I've got a couple of armadillos running riot over (and under, and through) my lawn. If I took them across the Atlantic with me (in a pet carrier, of course), I wonder if I could get a couple of pints of bitter in exchange for them?



Peter