Rock solid tribute - Winston would approve

It was a call out of the blue and quarry boss Martin Robins, not surprisingly, thought it was a wind-up.

Could he supply 60 tonnes of stone to some ex-Brits living out in America who planned to build an authentic pub out in the middle of Napa Valley, California, to be named Winston's.

'Why me?' asked the boss of the Farmington Stone quarry near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, that is enjoying a booming demand for its Cotswold limestone.

'Because your quarry supplied the stone for Bleinheim Palace where Sir Winston Churchill was born.'

Sixty tonnes might not sound a lot, but the ambitious group plans a chain of 30 Winston pubs, the idea being to cash in on America's disenchantment with second-rate leadership by offering a reminder of one of the best front-men this century.

To round things off in style, Martin suggests that they sell authentic British booze, like Wordsworth's of Devizes or Arkle's of Swindon, and big cigars.