What is happening with the Eagle & Child in Oxford?

Well, to answer this question I will have to mention a few things first. 

Every Tolkien fan knows the connection between the Eagle & Child (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) and the Inklings - it was, for a substantial amount of time, their watering hole. It has become something of a place of pilgrimage, and the reason for this is easily shown by this photo: