Everyone is welcome there – unless you’re Elon Musk
The Plough pictured in 2023(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
In the office above the Plough in Easton, Angelo Campolucci-Bordi and Harriet Waters are hard at work. The two business partners are fresh off a bumper weekend, when people were queueing along the street to get into the beloved community pub to watch the Lionesses triumph in the Women’s Euros.
There’s no rest this week though, with all hands on deck preparing for The Plough’s summer veg box campaign on August 12, when the pub will be sending out food parcels to people in need all over Bristol.
“We try to do one during the holidays (for) people not getting the food when they would get school meals and everything,” Angelo said. “It’s a really tough time for families, during the school holidays, so it’s a good little boost for us to be able to do this.”
The idea for the veg box run started during the covid pandemic, when an estimated 30,000 deliveries were made over a three year period. There is now a run every Christmas, and during the summer, relying on volunteers from the pub and wider community and funded exclusively by donations.
Anyone can sign up to receive a box, no questions asked or judgements made. Angelo and Harriet, two of the three people responsible for running the pub alongside Angelo’s co-landlord Tom Quarelle, estimated they would do around 500 to 600 boxes in this run. Angelo is keen to stress the veg box is not solely The Plough’s work, with other pubs in the area such as The Chelsea, The Love Inn, The Star and Garter and The Pipe and Slippers also helping out.
The veg box drive is just one of a string of initiatives the Plough is part of, and another big focus this year is the Collective Yes campaign to shine a spotlight on the issue of sexual harassment in the nightlife industry. The pub has long-been known for its fundraising and charity work, relying on donations rather than charging for entry to its legendary gigs and music nights and raising money and awareness for causes ranging from Palestine to refugees in camps in northern France.
The Plough’s status as one of the heartbeats of the Easton community means it’s little wonder it has been shortlisted for Bristol Live’s pub of the year. Not that you get the impression Angelo and Harriet care, they just want to go on helping out where they can and supporting causes they believe in.
Three flags fly on the roof of the pub: the Palestine flag, the Pride flag and the Jolly Roger. Signs on the window welcome members of the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma community, and inside there are countless banners demonstrating anti-fascist messages, and more than a couple of stickers voicing a lack of enthusiasm for Elon Musk.
“We’re quite fortunate as well because of the community that we’ve got, there’s a lot of people that really bring our attention to things, different topics, which charities are good to focus on,” Harriet said. “There’s a lot of input from everyone.”
As well as gigs and fundraisers, football is central to life at the pub. The Easton Cowboys and Cowgirls, or collectively “Cowfolk”, football teams are the heart and soul of the Plough.
The men’s team was founded in 1992, and briefly featured a certain Bristol graffiti artist in goal. They have toured Mexico and Brazil, playing against revolutionaries and being confronted by riot police during a lock-in with away fans in the famous Maracana stadium.
The Cowgirls have gone from strength to strength since they started in the early 2000s, going on their own tours including to the West Bank.
The Plough is the kind of place you keep coming back to, summed up perfectly by the regular propping up the bar during my visit who was proudly sporting a t- shirt he acquired during that tour to Brazil way back in 2010.
Angelo decries the state of the modern game. After wrestling with whether or not to show the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the pub decided to do so but donated all of its profits from matchdays to the families of the thousands of Nepalese workers who died constructing the tournament’s stadiums. Harriet and Angelo say they intend to do a similar charity drive when the 2026 edition rolls around, taking place for the most part in Trump’s USA.
“We are football lovers and who are they to take our game, you know?” Angelo asks.
Another point of pride is that the pub is still relatively affordable, with most tap lagers in the £4 range. With house prices in Easton now regularly breaching the £350,000 mark, higher than the Bristol average, Angelo concedes the character of the neighbourhood is changing.
I ask if the relentless march of gentrification puts the community nature of pubs like The Plough under threat. “Never,” he replies without missing a beat. “We won’t let it.”
More details about the veg box run, including how to donate, can be found on The Plough’s website.