29/12/2006 - CLUMBER PARK HOTEL OFFERS TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE – AND PENNY LANE – FOR BEATLES FANS

A NOTTINGHAMSHIRE hotel once graced by The Beatles during their 1960s heyday is taking fans of the Fab Four on a special trip down memory lane.

The Clumber Park Hotel is commemorating the band’s historic stay – which only recently came to light when a signed menu from their visit came under the hammer at a London auction – by staging a Beatles’ Night early in the new year.

As well as live music from tribute band The Fab4 and a three-course dinner, guests will also be able to see the signed menu card for themselves as it goes on display in the hotel’s newly-refurbished ballroom.

The menu will have a distinctive Beatles theme – with dishes featuring a flavour of some of the band’s biggest hits: Octopus’s Garden; Sgt Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band; and Strawberry Fields Forever.

John, Paul, Ringo and George stopped off at The Clumber Park Hotel for a meal as they travelled from Sunderland to a gig in Leicester on the UK leg of their three-year world tour in 1963.

They signed the restaurant menu card for a waitress who served them.  When it came up at Bonham’s Rock N Roll Memorabilia auction last month, the new owners of the hotel stepped in to bring back home to Nottinghamshire the prized autographs, beating off bidding interest from across the world.

Co-owner Derek Macdonald said: “The Beatles’ stay has proved a big talking point for guests and staff of the hotel since it became known that they called here.

“More than 40 years later, there is no doubt that they are still the most popular pop group ever – but news of their links to this hotel has triggered a further wave of interest.

“Guests are taken by the idea of having a drink or a meal in the same room where the Beatles did all those years ago, and having their photograph taken by the signed menu.

“There has been a lot of local demand for us to do something special to mark the event so we have put together a special Beatles’ night to give people the perfect opportunity of stepping back in time.”

The Clumber Park Hotel Beatles’ Night takes place on Saturday February 10th – the weekend before Valentine’s Day – at 7pm. Tickets are prices at £35 and are available from Fiona Littlewood on 01623 835333.