‘Yeah , they are hops, definitely not strawberries,’ he says with a smile Brian gives him a look as to say, what in hell are you talking about? Through a clump of trees I can see the farm ho use, it’ s enormous, and it has at least ten of those rotating things on its roof. We are divided into two groups, Rachel is not in mine. I want to talk to her but I am afraid of what my room mates will say ,they don’t seem interested in girls, I’m not sure that I am, but I would still like to talk to her.
Each group is taken in opposite directions by a guide; we have headed back, down the drive, to the hops growing on their frames. I am amazed to see two men walking on stilts, the stilts are fifteen feet high, the men are walking as though they are at ground level, they are not wobbling at all; I would love to try doing that. The guide explains that the workers are checking each flower for disease and insects and, that using stilts makes their job much quicker as they don’t have to keep climbing up and down ladders.
We are now being taken to the oust houses where the hops are dried after they have been picked. The house is not really a house; it is a two storey building with a fire place on the ground floor. On the first floor there is only a wooden floor. At one end it is open like a fire place. The guide explains that the heat from the fire is directed over the hops that are spread on the floor. The heat draws out the cowl at the end of the room it turns like a weather vane with the wind, so it always faces away from the wind, drawing the heat outside this dries the hops. When the hops are dry they are sent to Worthington ’s, the beer makers who add the hops to the beer to give it a bitter taste. I have tasted Gran’s stout, it was horrible and bitter, and I think I would like it better if they left out the hops. A boy from St Gab’s asks, ‘When will the y pick the hops .’ The guide answers
‘In September, pickers come down from London and spend six weeks here , but tha t won’t last because a machine h as been invented for picking, but the war stopped it being used. I give it three or four years and then there will be no pickers it will all be done by machine.’
The pigs aren’t very interesting they are just lying in a mud pool flicking their ears. We are shown the dairy where the cows are milked, the cows are in the meadow and won’t be back until after we have gone back to St S’s, I’m a bit disappointed as I have never seen a cow milked.
We are lucky; we are all going to pick strawberries. We are each given a small basket about ten inches long by about six inches wide and five inches deep. The guide explains, ‘I will pay you tuppence for each basket you fill, when you have filled it bring it to me in the barn over there and, if I think it is full, I will mark it down in my book, you then will be able to collect your money before you get back on the coach. Oh by the way you can eat as many as you want but, be careful, don’t get sick. Okay off you go, good picking.
“Wow, we can eat as many as we want and get paid for doing it, that’s fantastic.’ Peter is as excited as me but Lion and Brian both look at us and shake their heads.
‘Don’t be fooled it takes ages to fill a basket, even if you manage it, when you go to get them checked you, won’t be able to find the man he is never there, if you are lucky to find him he always reckons your basket is not full enough, this is the third time I have been here and I have never seen anyone get paid yet.’
‘Why did he say that then?’
‘I dunno I think he thinks it is funny, but anyway, we are only picking for an hour and, by the time you have eaten a few, you will find the basket doesn’t get very full.’ Brian adds, ‘Only eat the ones that squash in your fingers they are the ripe ones, if you eat
Each group is taken in opposite directions by a guide; we have headed back, down the drive, to the hops growing on their frames. I am amazed to see two men walking on stilts, the stilts are fifteen feet high, the men are walking as though they are at ground level, they are not wobbling at all; I would love to try doing that. The guide explains that the workers are checking each flower for disease and insects and, that using stilts makes their job much quicker as they don’t have to keep climbing up and down ladders.
We are now being taken to the oust houses where the hops are dried after they have been picked. The house is not really a house; it is a two storey building with a fire place on the ground floor. On the first floor there is only a wooden floor. At one end it is open like a fire place. The guide explains that the heat from the fire is directed over the hops that are spread on the floor. The heat draws out the cowl at the end of the room it turns like a weather vane with the wind, so it always faces away from the wind, drawing the heat outside this dries the hops. When the hops are dry they are sent to Worthington ’s, the beer makers who add the hops to the beer to give it a bitter taste. I have tasted Gran’s stout, it was horrible and bitter, and I think I would like it better if they left out the hops. A boy from St Gab’s asks, ‘When will the y pick the hops .’ The guide answers
‘In September, pickers come down from London and spend six weeks here , but tha t won’t last because a machine h as been invented for picking, but the war stopped it being used. I give it three or four years and then there will be no pickers it will all be done by machine.’
The pigs aren’t very interesting they are just lying in a mud pool flicking their ears. We are shown the dairy where the cows are milked, the cows are in the meadow and won’t be back until after we have gone back to St S’s, I’m a bit disappointed as I have never seen a cow milked.
We are lucky; we are all going to pick strawberries. We are each given a small basket about ten inches long by about six inches wide and five inches deep. The guide explains, ‘I will pay you tuppence for each basket you fill, when you have filled it bring it to me in the barn over there and, if I think it is full, I will mark it down in my book, you then will be able to collect your money before you get back on the coach. Oh by the way you can eat as many as you want but, be careful, don’t get sick. Okay off you go, good picking.
“Wow, we can eat as many as we want and get paid for doing it, that’s fantastic.’ Peter is as excited as me but Lion and Brian both look at us and shake their heads.
‘Don’t be fooled it takes ages to fill a basket, even if you manage it, when you go to get them checked you, won’t be able to find the man he is never there, if you are lucky to find him he always reckons your basket is not full enough, this is the third time I have been here and I have never seen anyone get paid yet.’
‘Why did he say that then?’
‘I dunno I think he thinks it is funny, but anyway, we are only picking for an hour and, by the time you have eaten a few, you will find the basket doesn’t get very full.’ Brian adds, ‘Only eat the ones that squash in your fingers they are the ripe ones, if you eat
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