IT'S coming home, it's coming home, it's coming - York Beer Festival is coming home. After an absence of two years through the lack of a suitable venue, the CAMRA-run York Beer Festival returns to the De Grey Rooms next March. This popular event brings in hundreds of visitors to York and is a 'must visit' for local real ale fans.

Despite York CAMRA's strenuous efforts, an alternative to the De Grey Rooms was never found. So ale campaigners are very grateful to York Arts Arena for letting them use the De Grey Rooms once more for the fest.

Annual beer festivals in the immediate past have been held in November. However, the organisers expect the event to be equally successful during the new Spring dates of March 22 to 24.

Eighty beers from breweries throughout Britain, together with real ciders and bottled beers, will be available during the three-day event.

CAMRA's beer festival-organising committee is currently planning the jamboree and would be happy to receive suggestions to further enhance it.

Offers of help in both the planning and the staffing of the festival would be gratefully received. New volunteers, and those who have helped in the past, please get in touch with Geoff Henman, telephone (01904) 792084, or email geoffdiannehenman@cwcom.net

The organisers are also hoping to encourage sponsorship from local companies and individuals - why not have a Special Beer in your name?

u AS long as gallons of grimy water haven't overpowered your sandbags, ruining your home and making your life hell, or wrecked your business, or sent raw sewage across your street... then flood-watching can be quite fun.

Here are three Bar Talk suggestions for pubs from which to watch the world float by.

1 Masons Arms, Fishergate. Raging torrent can be viewed from beer garden. Pub operating normally. Splendid view of Foss Flood Barrier manfully holding back the deluge. Barmaid Nikki Terry said swirling river looked "amazing". Beers include Flowers, Tetleys and Pommies Revenge from Goose Eye.

2 Yates's Wine Lodge, Church Lane. "It's a bit cold," says barman Joe Kennard. "We've got no heating, we've got no draught beers and no mixers." But Yates's has got the best views of the engorged Ouse. Flooded cellar means your choice of beverage is limited to bottles of beer, spirits and bottled lemonade and coke. Remember: wrap up warm.

3 The Fox, Holgate Road. Floodwater from Holgate Beck has withdrawn from the car park, according to landlady Caroline "River" Banks. So you can get your lips round a pint of Tetley, Landlord or Pedigree without risking soggy socks.

Alternatively, the York Beer and Wine Shop is still operating, despite the water lapping at the end of Sandringham Street and Fulford Road flooding. Co-owner Eric Boyd offers draught beers, including Black Sheep Bitter at £1.30 a pint, plus a huge range of bottles to drink in the safety of your own home.

u BAR Talk now has the results of the Jolly Farmer beer festival, which pitted English ales against those from the rest of the world (aka the Isle of Wight, Wales and Scotland).

After much supping and re-supping, festival attendees declared the winner to be... England! (Cheers and chorus of Land of Hope and Glory).

It was a close run thing, with Pendragon from Hampshire Brewery taking the honours. Landlord John Parkinson, however, favoured Knockendoch from Sulwath, Dumfries.

u WHERE better to celebrate being shortlisted in the Evening Press Business of the Year awards than the Black Swan? So thought one thrusting entrepreneur as he sank a pint or two of York Brewery's Centurion's Ghost Ale at the Peasholme Green alehouse.

This five per cent brew tastes even stronger and it certainly had a lasting effect on the wannabe Richard Branson. So much so that he had to concede to his wife the next morning that the beer was haunting him still...