The idea of refurbishing Tenby United RFC's Upper Frog Street clubhouse came about when I took over the secretary's duties in March 2000.

At my first meeting with our brewery area manager, Mr. Phil Williams, he asked was there anything I needed urgently to increase bar sales. My reply was, could he arrange for the club to be knocked down and rebuilt, as nothing had been done to the property for at least 25 years, whereas other licensed properties in the town had been upgraded!

We were on a downward slide, our outgoings were greater than our income, and he agreed to look into the refurbishment possibility.

An architect drew up initial plans for a redecoration at approximately £30,000. He later returned with his idea of a complete refurbishment, which would take the club forward at least 10 years, but would cost approximately £80,000.

It was agreed at a business meeting, along with our accountant Bryn Jones, of Ashmole and Co, that this was the right decision to take, the only way forward.

The hardest part was obtaining funding. Three major banks turned us down and it was down to a last resort plea to the brewery for funding. Luckily they agreed, as they could see we wished to make the clubhouse successful once again.

Work eventually started on October 8, 2001, and should have been finished for Christmas. Unfortunately, unforeseen snags occurred and delays happened, and the project was not completed until early April.

Now we have only a few cosmetic items to do, such as replacing a lot of the pictures of the club's history and the honours boards.

We now have a full justices licence and general members of the public can use the clubhouse and its facilities, which include the magnificent main function room, complete with large screen television, 'horse-shoe' bar and pool table, the smaller, more intimate, front 'Celtic' bar, disabled toilet facilities and a walled patio area, which is ideal for sitting outside to enjoy a pint when the sun shines... as it always does in Tenby!

We are in the process of applying for a public entertainment licence and when this is in place we will be looking to resume our popular Saturday night discos.

Further good news for the club is that the brewery has also agreed to fund the refurbishment of our kitchen facilities, which will soon enable us to offer meals and light snacks comparable to other public houses in the town.

It has been a long, hard two years for all involved and I must express my grateful thanks to the other members of the refurbishment committee who helped, including Bryan Jones, Mike Rossiter, Denzil Griffiths, Derek Lloyd, Mike Evans and Phil Williams, of Coors Brewery.

Although we may have had a few disappointments on the pitch this season, Tenby United is determined to keep going forward and we think all the effort put in to the refurbishment of our clubhouse is worth it.

Why not pop in yourselves and see? You can be assured of a warm Seasiders welcome.

Geoff Carew,

Hon. Secretary.