Sex, Sex, Sex
Sex, sex, sex, as Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells might write to The Times. Is that all there is to life?
Well, in the spirit of high-minded discussion, we thought that we’d dedicate this blog to our efforts to source local materials for our products and to give you a snapshot of where we are in this year’s farming cycle. You will have to read to the end of the post to satisfy yourself of our resolve and success in keeping sex out of this blog.
A few weeks back, we had quite a time of it dealing with about 200 Herdwick sheep fleeces that we’d had delivered as future insulation material for our products Derek the drinks cooler and Les the cooler bag .
Our Herdwick fleeces come from Joe at Yew Tree Farm , a National Trust farm, and get delivered to us in huge 60kg bales. You have to see these bales to truly believe them.
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Joe's Herdwicks
Sheep fleece is highly varied and used in an assortment of different ways. Shetland and Merino, for example, is ideal for baby’s clothing. But coarser, harsher wool – like Herdwick – is brilliant for carpets and as insulation. Herdwick fleece makes for great roof insulation . It’s also used for the insulating packaging one finds in meat boxes. Just as it formerly protected the sheep as they graze the windswept fells, the wool now serves as effective insulation for human needs.
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Shearing time at Yew Tree Farm
Our job, on delivery of these enormous bales, is to stuff the smelly multicoloured fleeces into 20kg bags sent to us from the Natural Fibre Company. This, of course, involves much hauling, heaving and stuffing. Then we, in turn, send these bags down to the Natural Fibre Company headquarters in Cornwall (the only place in the UK for small quantities like this) – before taking a good bath. Down in Cornwall, the wool is scoured and carded, preparing it for use as insulation lining.
Next, the wool is returned in flat sheets for Vera to quilt and sew into Les and Derek. The slim Herdwick insulation is just the job for our products, combining terrific efficiency and locally sourced material. Finally, Vera has done her work and Derek and Les are ready to go to market.
It’s a hefty job pulling apart the Herdwick bales and stuffing the smaller bags with the decidedly odorous fleeces. As we were in the middle of this laborious work the other day, I was suddenly struck by the multicoloured marks on the fleeces. It would be easy to assume these were some simple form of identification, a way of marking out different ages of sheep on the slopes.
.JPG)
Not so, it turns out. The fleeces of the ewes (or female sheep) become coloured, it seems, when the males, who’ve have the paint smeared on their bellies, mate with them. In the language of the Lakes, the Tup (or male) paints the backside of the Yow (or ewe).
So there, you learn something every day. End of post. And not a trace of sex in sight. This blog remains a smut-free zone.
Well, in the spirit of high-minded discussion, we thought that we’d dedicate this blog to our efforts to source local materials for our products and to give you a snapshot of where we are in this year’s farming cycle. You will have to read to the end of the post to satisfy yourself of our resolve and success in keeping sex out of this blog.
A few weeks back, we had quite a time of it dealing with about 200 Herdwick sheep fleeces that we’d had delivered as future insulation material for our products Derek the drinks cooler and Les the cooler bag .
Our Herdwick fleeces come from Joe at Yew Tree Farm , a National Trust farm, and get delivered to us in huge 60kg bales. You have to see these bales to truly believe them..JPG)
Joe's HerdwicksSheep fleece is highly varied and used in an assortment of different ways. Shetland and Merino, for example, is ideal for baby’s clothing. But coarser, harsher wool – like Herdwick – is brilliant for carpets and as insulation. Herdwick fleece makes for great roof insulation . It’s also used for the insulating packaging one finds in meat boxes. Just as it formerly protected the sheep as they graze the windswept fells, the wool now serves as effective insulation for human needs.
.JPG)
Shearing time at Yew Tree FarmOur job, on delivery of these enormous bales, is to stuff the smelly multicoloured fleeces into 20kg bags sent to us from the Natural Fibre Company. This, of course, involves much hauling, heaving and stuffing. Then we, in turn, send these bags down to the Natural Fibre Company headquarters in Cornwall (the only place in the UK for small quantities like this) – before taking a good bath. Down in Cornwall, the wool is scoured and carded, preparing it for use as insulation lining.
Next, the wool is returned in flat sheets for Vera to quilt and sew into Les and Derek. The slim Herdwick insulation is just the job for our products, combining terrific efficiency and locally sourced material. Finally, Vera has done her work and Derek and Les are ready to go to market.
It’s a hefty job pulling apart the Herdwick bales and stuffing the smaller bags with the decidedly odorous fleeces. As we were in the middle of this laborious work the other day, I was suddenly struck by the multicoloured marks on the fleeces. It would be easy to assume these were some simple form of identification, a way of marking out different ages of sheep on the slopes.
.JPG)
Not so, it turns out. The fleeces of the ewes (or female sheep) become coloured, it seems, when the males, who’ve have the paint smeared on their bellies, mate with them. In the language of the Lakes, the Tup (or male) paints the backside of the Yow (or ewe). So there, you learn something every day. End of post. And not a trace of sex in sight. This blog remains a smut-free zone.
Labels: borrowdale, cooler bag, derek, flock inn, herdwick wool, insulation, les, natural fibre, second nature, sheep, yew tree farm
posted by jorrit at
12:49
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