We're Still 'Ere...

No, we've not been on holiday, asleep or even pretending to be the potential next US president. Well, Ok, so we tried to do the latter, but the queue was a bit big. The truth is I couldn't be bothered. Far too busy watching and doing things to actually sit down and write about them. So here is a quick synopsis of what has happened since early March...

The Beers:

Golden Plover is now a regular, it was that well received amongst our local customers. The alternative Britannias are going well, and the sixth has just been released, 'Polar Star', which is a very blonde beer with a bit of a citrus kick. Brewed with maize and wheat alongside the more traditional barley, this beer nods slightly towards the 'American Pale Ale' style, and of course was fermented with our yeast, which - if you have been concentrating - you will know is partly a bottom fermenting (ie 'lager') strain. Rumour is that when the beer was barrelled up, most of it was drunk before it reached the casks, so it must be good.

The Brewery:

Still plodding on, but recently blowing up pumps & coolers at random yet crucial moments. We have a proper sales person chap now, who goes by the name of David. It seems he may be able to out anorak existing staff in areas mechanical & musical, and so is fitting in just well. And we are selling more beer, which can't be bad. We just need now to get some more tanks in, if the Chinese haven't eaten all the steel yet.


The Wildlife:

Now the real reason we have been busy. The Lapwings chose the field by the brewery for nesting this year, and so we have had many a happy hour firstly watching the Lapwing Defensive Strategies being deployed, and then doubly so once the chicks hatched. There is something indefinably addictive about the little chicks as they bob around in the grass. Sadly, the adults move the chicks to longer undergrowth after a couple of weeks, so they are now a couple of fields away, although there is apparently a chance of further broods as late arrivals start nesting. The Swallows arrived before the last snows in April, which seemed to perturb them a bit (the Swallows that is, not the snow). But they are still here, in great numbers, and nesting. We have Pied Wagtails and Pigeons nesting in sight of the office door, so there is still some bird action to come (so to speak). We even have a Corn Bunting who wanders up to the office door most days, which is nice and apt. The ducks have ducklets, and the Moorhens will soon be joining them no doubt. The sparrows have been hard at it as well, and for a species that is apparently on the RSPB red list, they seem to be doing just fine in the barns here.


Anyway, must go. We have a government to fund, so time really is money know, and quite probably about to be taxed....