• Oakham Ales Elite Club

   

  • Awarded entry to "Oakham Ales Elite Club - The Academy of Excellence"  (Mar 2009)

   

• Food Hygiene Star Award

   

  • "5 Stars! Excellent Hygiene Standard!" - Environmental Services, Food Hygiene Star Award, (Nov 2008, 2009)

   

• Cask Marque Accreditation:

   

  • 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

   

• Local Secrets - Voted:

   

  • ‘Reviewers Favourite Pub Food’ (2005-6)

   

• Hardens London Restaurants - Voted:

   

  • 'Best Pub Food in Cambridge' &

  • 'Very Good Ambience' (2004)

   

• Observer Food Monthly (3 awards) - Voted:

   

  • 'Best Cheap Eats'

  • 'Best Sunday Lunch'

  • 'Best Place to Drink' (with Cambridge Blue), in E. Anglia (Feb 2004)

   

• Eat, Drink & Be Merry Awards - Voted:

   

  • 'Cambridge's Favourite Pub!' (2004)

Articles

"The Kingston Arms Really is a Most Enterprising Pub" - Ale Magazine (CAMRA)

A short article about our (my) range of novel attractions (most of which are mentioned below), which I introduced to combat the recession. The trade press (in this case Ale Magazine) heard about our attractions and labelled us a 'most enterprising pub'! Issue 341/Autumn 2009 (Jan/10).

"Staff can Retain Tips" (Printed Version) & "Unfair Top-up Tips to be Banned" (Web Version) - The Publican Magazine

The hospitality trade faced strong media attention during the early/mid part of 2009 due to it's use of tips to 'top up' staff wages. The Publican Magazine wanted to know what I thought about this and use it in a quote in a short article. This was published both on their website and in their magazine in May 2009 (Jan/10).

JPEG of Published Article

Locally Hosted HTML Version of Article

Link to Publican's Hosted HTML Version of Article

"Recession be Damned Beer" - The Dobson Agency

A short article about my 'Recession Be Damned' Ale, entrepreneurial spirit and what I think about Alistair Darling's budget plans! This was published by The Dobson Agency in Apr 2009 (Jan/10)

"Ale 'N Hearty" - The Sun Newspaper

A short article about our (my) 'Recession Be Damned' Ale, which is spearheading our 'Recession Options'  campaign was mentioned in the national press! The Sun Newspaper in Apr 2009 (Dec/09).

"Recession Busters" - first article by The Publican Magazine to spearhead their 'Local Hero' series. - The Publican Magazine

In May 09, as part of our recession busting measures I introduced our 'Recession Range' at The Kingston Arms (outlined below, "Pubs offering recession tipples & tax credits"). The Recession Range, included our own ale 'Recession be Damned'. WaverlyTBS, together with The Publican magazine, were running a scheme ('Local Hero') which offered landlords/licensees their own bespoke, locally brewed ale. I thought this was too good an opportunity to miss, so I took them up on their offer, but rather than nominate a 'Local Hero' to name the beer after, I decided to name the beer to reflect our feelings about the recession. Hence our ale 'Recession be Damned' was born! I used this ale as part of our recession busting drive at The Kingston.

WaverlyTBS and The Publican Magazine liked this so much they used it as the first article in their 'Local Hero' series (Dec/09).

 

JPEG of Published Article

"Recession Busters" - pre-article/teaser by The Publican Magazine to spearhead their 'Local Hero' series. - The Publican Magazine

In Apr 09, The Publican magazine ran a short article/teaser about my Recession be Damned beer (part of our 'Recession Busting' Options drive).

The Publican magazine published this in Apr/09 (Jan/10).

 

JPEG of Published Article

"Pubs offering recession tipples and tax credits" - The Cambridge News

Back in May 09 , one of our businesses (The Kingston Arms Freehouse) had a slight impact from the recession. As a result we introduced all sorts of 'Recession Busting' measures. The first was reducing our prices across the board, and the second was to DRASTICALLY reduce the price on a few select pumps, and introduce a Recession Menu, and call this our Recession Range. This made the local press, The Cambridge News (May/09). Shown below is the article converted to HTML (Dec/09).

 

HTML Version of Published Article

Quotes

• A classic pub, free of any keg products. The stunning blue exterior adorned with hanging baskets makes it easy to find....award winning food is served lunchtimes and evenings...The walled garden has canopies and heaters and is popular all year round.” - Good Beer Guide, 2008

   

• "...Kingston Arms, one of our premier real ale pubs." - ALE Magazine Oct/2008

   

• "Reasons to Celebrate British Food: The Gastropub. Among the roll call of honour across the country are The Kingston Arms in Cambridge…” - BBC and Olive Magazine, May/2006

   

• "A gastropub to rival London’s the Engineer and the Lansdowne” - The Observer Food Monthly, Feb/04

"A complete pub operating system - and it's all free!" - Vintners' Federation of Ireland Update Magazine

This article describes my remastered Linux distribution (HospitalityMachine). It was published in Vintners' Federation of Ireland Update magazine (May/08).

 

JPEG of Published Article

"ePub: Free software for pubs" - The Publican Magazine

This article was written by Phil Mellows of The Publican magazine (Sep/07). It outlines my linux distros ('HospitalityMachine' & 'HospitalityMachineKiosk'), and my reasons for creating them.

A small item about introducing a website to provide a virtual presence. - The Publican Magazine

This item illustrates the success a website can bring to a hospitality based business. It briefly outlines my gradual introduction of I.T. in our pub the Kingston Arms. It was published in The Publican magazine (June/05).

Article about the use of I.T. in our hospitality based business, from the customers point of view & behind the scenes. - Class Magazine

This article describes the gradual introduction of I.T. in the Kingston Arms. It was published in Class magazine (May/05).

 

JPEG of Published Article

Quotes

• I received notification that The Hurlingham Club was, and is, using my School.Machine.Kiosk. software in their members I.T. room. Some of the quotes/feedback I received from their I.T. Manager (David Appleton, The Hurlingham Club, London, Aug/09) include:

• "It does the job very nicely"

   

• "We have been [using] the School.Machine.Kiosk. Live CD for use on our public computers in our Members I.T. room"

• I was commissioned by Quarry Bay School in Hong Kong to re-master a custom version of Linux for them, which was loosely based on my School.Machine.Kiosk. software. Some of the quotes/feedback I received from their Head of I.T. (Ken Kiwi, Quarry Bay School, Hong Kong, Nov/08) include:

• "It's a simple setup, I can start using the kiosk machine as soon as I have installed it to my PC using my bootable CD rom or thumb drive or Hard disc installation!"

   

• "No configuration are needed as it connects the the internet straight away!"

   

• "System is secured as the kiosk OS is locked down and only the installed application are permitted to run, which means viruses does not affect the kiosk machines!"

   

• "Browser resets when time expires so personal data such as user name/passwords/temp files are cleared!"

• About my Installable Hospitality Software OS & Suite - HospitalityMachine distro (available here):

• "I'm a late convert to your software. I found it by typing Hospitality Software in Google, and voila, I am now using it on my laptop. It's free, and more importantly, it does everything I need! Oh, and I really like the rotating desktop. Thank you sir." - Joseph Mendes, Google User/Email, Jun/09 (posted Jan/10)

• "Your product [is] by far the best one for pubs, and  I have wasted hours researching the net for this type of thing. And then I find one just down the road - and free. Legend." - Giles Lewis, The Bell Inn, Norfolk. Mar/09 (posted Jan/10)

• "I use your HospitalityMachine software on my office computers, and they work flawlessly. And the amount of software that comes included is amazing! I have had a great time designing flyers, trying to design a website, and I do all my office stuff. I can't believe this is all free! And no licensing costs Again, thank you!" - Elvis Joncevski, The Geldart, Aug/08

• "...took me a while to get the hang of it, but once I did.... amazing stuff! I don't have to pay Bill Gates a penny! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" - John Tully, Vintners Federation of Ireland Update reader, May/08

• "I use this on my computers in my office. You've saved me a fortune! In fact you've saved me so much money I've bought some more machines for my network. And I didn't have to buy any software at all." - Sean Haney, Vintners Federation of Ireland Update reader, May/08

• I've also downloaded your HM software and I'm currently running it on my second desktop. I didn't know you could run a complete operating system, and have lots of applications, for free. It's been a real eye opener." - Liam Sheridan, Vintners Federation of Ireland Update reader, May/08

• "... just wanted to say... your software is bloody brilliant!!!!" - Mick Fisher, Vintners Federation of Ireland Update reader, May/08

• "Hi Paul saw your article in the publican, and 3 of us are now using your linux system, hats off to the man!!! You've opened up my interest in the whole thing....brilliant... having a great time playing and learning!"  - Andy Johnson, Longs Wine Bar, Oct/07

• "Just heard that the story I wrote about Hospitality Machine [about Paul Boggia & HospitalityMachine] was our fourth most popular story last week - highly unusual for a feature!" - Phil Mellows, Features Editor, The Publican, Sep/07

• "Yikes - you're a genius - I will give it a whirl" - Jane W, The Publican magazine reader, Sep/07

• About my remastered CD based browser application -  HospitalityMachineKiosk distro (available here):

• "I'm using it in my cafe. I don't have an internet cafe as such, but I found your software, bought a few small old pcs, stuck them in the corner, and now people come into my cafe just to use the pc's. And the funny thing is, I don't know anything about this stuff! Thank you for making this fool proof!" - 'Steady Eddy', Email, Apr/09 (posted Jan/10)

• "Professional job. You should charge for this." - Tom Miller, Email, May/09 (posted Jan/10)

• "Hi Paul, just wanted to say, your kiosk software is good stuff. The amount of hassle I've had trying to find a SECURE kiosk environment, with a Google Homepage, has been a incredible. And then I find yours. Free! Proper stuff!" - Michael Chung, Email, Apr/09 (posted Jan/10)

• "I've used your instructions to copy this onto a USB drive. I have given these to my parents and relatives. They now surf the net in complete safety, and do all their online banking using your kiosk software. This is SOOOOOO useful!" - Laura Price, Email, Feb/09 (posted Jan/10)

• "...this is an exciting project that is benefiting my customers..." - Justin Hoeft, Higher Power Technology, Inc. St. Louis, U.S.A, Aug/08

• "Thank you soooo much for putting this together - I'm surprised that noone has done this before, the need for it is massive! I've been using it for staff training computers in the common areas of Nursing Homes." - Justin Hoeft, Higher Power Technology, Inc. St. Louis, U.S.A, Aug/08

• "I just wanted you to know that I use your kiosk software on the computers in my pub, and I don't bother doing a thing to them. They look after themselves. They are safe and secure, and on the very rare occasions they glitch, I just turn them off and on and everything is the same as before. Thanks for doing this - I can give my customers secure web browsing - even if I don't know how!" - Elvis Joncevski, The Geldart, Aug/08

•  "Kudos to you my man!" - Patrick McAuley, Vintners Federation of Ireland Update reader, May/08

• "Software that runs from CD? Fantastic stuff! I've stuck it in an old pc and now I surf the internet, shop and bank online, and don't worry!" - Declan O Toole, Vintners Federation of Ireland Update reader, May/08

• "Hi Paul. I just wanted you to know that I've downloaded your HMK software, and now I'm using it on my old computer. In fact I've also gave it to my parents and my grandparents, and now they all surf the internet without fear!" - Liam Sheridan, Vintners Federation of Ireland Update reader, May/08

• "...your distros are the only one's I've found that are for kiosk/hospitality use and still support Flash." - Justin Hoeft, Higher Power Technology, Inc. St. Louis, U.S.A, Apr/08

• "I think your HospitalityMachineKiosk v2.0A mini is great, I was testing this on my hardware and thinking of setting this up at my work which is a school for internet browsing only for the children..." - Ken Kiwi, Quarry Bay School, Hong Kong, Feb/08

• "I like the CD-booting system you have at the Kingston Arms PCs very much. Very secure and very private." - Dr Philip Sargent, Klebos Ltd, May/07

• About the public network at The Kingston Arms:

• "I want the same setup you have at The Kingston Arms at my Pub!" - Elvis Joncevski, The Geldart, Aug/08

• “Another good example in Cambridge of good wireless is the Kingston arms pub which sells some of the best food in Cambridge and has a great attitude when it comes to dishing out the connections, what can be better then a pint and surf at the same time?” - Venture Skills, Oct/06

Other

• Invitation to the 'Proud of Pubs' Parliamentary Launch at The House of Commons:

   

  • I received another 'Proud of Pubs' Parliamentary Launch Invitation to The House of Commons. For the same reasons outlined below, but for July/09.

• Due to my work in introducing I.T. to the hospitality industry (mainly through my articles) I received an invitation to attend a Parliamentary Launch at the House of Commons (July/08). A select few people in the industry, the team from The Publican magazine, and myself were invited to the function to be hosted by Greg Mulholland MP. June/08