Cheers to Betty Stoggs (From This is The West Country)
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Cheers to Betty Stoggs
1:18pm Saturday 19th April 2008 in Cornwall
"Well done, Betty!" Betty Stogs, aka Fred Thomas, is congratulated on his charity fund-raising by Mary Murfin, of Children's Hospice South West, Skinners Brewery's adopted charity, and brewery managing director Steve Skinner.
Cornwall's best-known "panto dame" character has been told to carry on after a successful first year of fund-raising for charity.
The real-life version of Betty Stogs - the famous character on the namesake beer bottles - originally came about to help celebrate the tenth anniversary year of Truro-based Skinners Brewery.
Skinners publicly invited applications for the "sex change" role, with the job description including regularly having his face made up, changing into women's clothing for high-profile exposure by night - and the perk of free drinks.
The lucky winner was Sticker resident Fred Thomas, 42, still better known to many as an agricultural sales representative.
As Betty Stogs, he has raised over £2,000 - mostly for Skinners' adopted charity, Children's Hospice South West, but also for the RNLI at waterfront events.
In character, he has run the Truro Half Marathon and Newquay 10K and toured pubs with an ever-increasing fund of funny stories and jokes.
He has also attended beer festivals, opened fetes and become something of an after-dinner speaker. He addressed the Rugby Wooden Spoon dinner in Newquay alongside former England prop Graham Rowntree, and even accepted an invitation to speak at a memorial service.
"The whole thing seems to be going from strength to strength," says Fred, who revealed the role his 16-year-old daughter Jen has played in her dad's double life.
"She's been a great help in making up my face and putting on the nail varnish on for me. Jen is very creative; she's been involved in the pantomime at Sticker and worked on the props and costumes in productions at Roseland Community School."
Fred adds: "It's all great fun and I owe a big debt of gratitude to Katie Bowden, the co-producer at Sticker Players, who has helped a lot with the story lines and jokes.
"In the pubs they're unofficially calling it An Audience With Betty Stogs' and I've been told I come over as a cross between Jethro and Tommy Cooper!"
Fred is now looking forward to an even busier second year in the role, with a highlight being the Falmouth Tall Ships Regatta in September, when Skinners will be lead event sponsor.
"'Our Betty' has done an absolutely terrific job," says brewery managing director Steve Skinner.
"Fred has done everything we had in mind and more. He's a natural for the role. He makes everyone feel better and he never misses an opportunity to go round with a collecting box or to sell raffle tickets."
The Betty Stogs beer has won a host of prestigious awards and is named after a folklore character of west Cornwall, who was unkempt and lazy, could never mend her stockings, couldn't knit or cook - and definitely liked her ale!
Her child was taken from her by the "small people," washed in the morning dew and returned. The shock of it is said to have turned Betty into a reformed character.
