At Bosbury: The Hop Sorter.

George has been doing the hop harvest on this very farm for 65 years. It's a way of life for him and his friend Gordon. Hops have been grown in Hereford since 1577, but seen much earlier than that. Initially grown as a salad plant for its medicinal qualities possibly to purify drinking water.

There has been little change in this industry, from the pole and wire work that the hop vines are trained on to the long days of the harvest. George's fathers was a hop picker before him. He would remember his childhood, 'going hopping' which meant in those days, a working family holiday.

It was, much like today. A team of hop harvesters, hop hangers, hop pickers, hop sorters, hop balers, hop sweepers. An efficient team of like minded people. Everyone working seamlessly around the next. Equal not in age, or experience. That's something that's unique to this job. An 85 year old, working shoulder to shoulder with a 20 year old. A life time of knowledge, his fathers father passes his knowledge down to the other workers. A life time of skill. Gordon and George, are what's right about British industry. How wonderful that they are still employed here...x