Whenever I suggest a new pub to my friends, I’m met with resistance. My niche recommendations are “too far away” which, in the university bubble, seems to be anything above a ten minute walk. But even if The Baron of Beef and The Pick are your usual haunts, the extra few steps to The Blue Moon are well worth it. After a sunny walk through the Grafton centre, I sit down with Sophie Littlechild to discuss the goings-on behind the bar.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your role at The Blue Moon pub.

I’m Sophie Littlechild, the manager. I’ve been working here for about 10 years now! I manage everything from putting the events on to ordering in the beers.

At The Blue Moon you have a really wide range of events, spanning from RPG evenings to goth club nights. Which is your favourite and why?

That’s difficult! Now That’s What I Call Drag is always an absolute pleasure. The event itself is so well done, so polished – those guys are professionals. I also love Goth Night and seeing everyone so gothed up. Not once has anyone asked the staff to dress up, but they always bring it too!

“the queer community can come, feel safe, and know that they’re going to have a great night”

Your pub is committed to hosting queer and drag events. Would you say this is rare in the Cambridge pub scene?

I think it is unfortunately a bit rare. There are definitely other queer events going on in the city but not quite as many as we’re doing. I hear this from lots of our customers as well – this is somewhere that the queer community can come, feel safe, and know that they’re going to have a great night.

Located near the Grafton centre, you’re a bit further away from the really studenty areas of town. Do you target some of your events at locals and some at students, or aim for a mix?

I’ll be honest with you – I’m not targeting them at one specific group. This pub is for everyone, and we attract a great mix of locals and students. Whenever I put events out, the message is just to come along if you want!

Tell us one memorable moment from your time working at The Blue Moon.

During the first Cambridge Pride, we hosted our afterparty, and someone who had been coming here for a really long time chose to come to our pub as themselves for the first time. She came and gave me a massive hug. I was crying when she told me that she wouldn’t have been able to come out and be who she is without our pub. That was pretty big.

“This pub is for everyone, and we attract a great mix of locals and students”

Which events that you host are the most popular? Which do you think are underrated?

The Drag Nights are massively popular; The Calling (goth night) is hugely popular. The live music is definitely underrated. There are some amazing local bands, some amazing touring musicians. People know what they’re getting with a club night or drag night ticket, whereas with bands, they don’t know if £10 is too much to spend on some acts they don’t know. The answer is no, it isn’t!

On a typical night, what’s your drink and pizza of choice?

I love a hazy pale ale. A Three Blind Mice or a Baron pale ale – there are just so many delicious hazies! With pizza, I vary. I flip between a Meat and Smokey, a Leo’s, and sometimes just an Ultimate Pepperoni.

Which parts of running a pub are the most challenging?

A lot goes on behind the scenes. We close late at night, so you’re out of here by 1am, and then you need to wind down, but the next day there might be a delivery at 7 in the morning. Your sleep is dependent on deliveries. Also, for me, it’s hard to switch off. You’re responsible for everyone in this building. Making sure that people aren’t drinking too much is hard. People don’t like to be told if they’ve had too much to drink, so it can be quite challenging to say: “Look, I’m not barring you, but you do need to go home now”.

Finally, what’s your favourite part of your job here?

I genuinely love picking the beer. When we get a list from the distributors, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I tend to fill up the cellar probably too much! I love an interesting stout, like Hammerton’s Dia de Los Muertos – a Mexican cake stout with chocolate and chili.