Despite this, we’re still calling on operators to enter the Publican Awards this year because I think it’s important for us to champion and shout about the great things that are being done in this sector, now more than ever.

We are under siege on all sides in this crisis with the UK’s political class clearly taking the position that our sector is not something they value or respect.

We need to use opportunities like the Publican Awards to fight that view, to remind politicians and wider society that the UK pub and bar sector is a vibrant, important and responsible industry that plays a vital part both in the fabric of our society but also in the economy.

It’s become clear throughout this crisis that no-one else is going to blow our trumpet, so we need to rectify that, and by getting involved in the Publican Awards, it gives us the opportunity to do that on the trades behalf.

We need to gather those stories of excellence from across the trade, to be able to showcase how an industry that was thrown to the wolves by the government and brought to its knees through no fault of its own, still managed to deliver excellence, and find ways to survive and in some cases thrive, while providing support to those that needed it.

We’ve seen some amazing stories from individual pubs providing support to their communities, and we highlighted that to great success with the Great British Pub Awards. 

We want to do that for the entire industry, putting the pub and bar sector in the spotlight for all the right reasons and to remind everyone that it needs and deserves support.

So to help us achieve that, we need to hear your stories. So please enter the awards, help us to gather that information to shout from the rooftops about how great and important our sector is.

We want to put the trade back on the road to recovery, and the Publican Awards, with your support, can help us do that.

Deadline to enter the awards is December 18, and you can enter online by visiting www.publicanawards.co.uk​