THE search is on for the Gazette Pub of the Year 2019.

We want to salute the best in the area, the places where people can enjoy quality ales and wines, as well as good food at a price ordinary folk can afford.

But perhaps most of all we want to celebrate the pubs with the warmest welcomes, where customers feel at home, where they can relax and meet friends, or even chat with someone new.

We are calling on the experts to help with our search – our readers!

We know they love their pubs and know the difference between the superb and the ordinary.

Some will almost certainly hail the local where neither pensioner nor teenager will feel out of place, where there is room for a darts, football and skittles teams.

There may be a TV screen showing the big games, but there will also be quiz nights and curry nights, quiet corners where the book club or local committees can meet.

Good drink will be applauded, but irresponsible drinking discouraged. Nights may be lively, but never unruly. The issues of the times will be discussed, not fought over, and all will be welcomed through the door regardless of their gender, race, religion or means.

It will, in short, be the perfect English pub, a great institution that the rest of the world simply cannot replicate.

We are opening nominations for your favourite pub on Thursday.

All you have to do is complete the nomination form in the paper and send it to the address shown. Please note photocopies/scans will NOT be accepted; you must use a form snipped from the newspaper.

Entries must reach us before February 1, 2019.

The six pubs that receive the most nomination will be shortlisted as finalists. We will then ask readers to vote for their favourite.

The pub with the most votes will be crowned Pub of the Year at the end of March, and be presented with our coveted trophy and winner’s certificate, as well as a special prize. All six runners up will receive finalists’ certificates.

Landlords, managers and staff are also free to nominate and vote for their own pubs.

Nominations are open from Thursday!