The Bell at East Langton will reopen on Friday

At last some good news. The Leicester Mercury reports:

A pub in an idyllic village near Market Harborough which shut during the pandemic is preparing to reopen under new management. The Bell, in Main Street, East Langton, will be welcoming customers again from this Friday, October 13.

The pub, which dates back to the 17th Century, has been taken over by Neil and Steph Price who also run The George at Ashley.

While scholars agree that the model for Bonkers Hall is Nevill Holt Hall near Medbourne, East Langton is most often cited as the inspiration for the village to which Lord Bonkers often refers.

My hero J.W. Logan MP lived at East Langton Grange and established a cottage home in the village for the children of men who were killed on his railway works. I had already invented Lord Bonkers' Home for Well-Behaved Orphans when I discovered this.

So The Bell must surely be the model for the Bonkers' Arms. It has a lovely beer garden in front and Mr Logan's cricket ground is across the road.

I wish the new management all the best in reviving what was until recently a thriving pub.