A few weeks ago Barry received an email from a journalist writing for a national newspaper. He forwarded it to his marketing manager – me!

“The Observer newspaper is preparing an article about new technology in homebrewing, to be published in the September issue of our science and technology supplement. The piece will entail asking the chief brewer at a prominent craft brewery to try out each of the gadgets and give his opinion on each, opinions which will then be written up as a large illustrated piece, online and in print.”

We weren’t sure when or even if, we would ‘appear’ in the paper. On Sunday I emailed to ask the journalist as we’d not heard, and not long afterwards had an email from the lovely Helen of Wild Side, to say her sister had spotted ‘us’ and sent a photo (see above).

The Observer’s reply arrived early on Monday,  providing a link for the full article which you can read in Sunday Guardian/Observer online if you’re interested.

The brewer who tested it gave a positive review (a FEMALE brewer I’m very proud to report!), and included The Home Brew Boat website link in which is fantastic for sharing what we’re doing to promote brewing your own at home/on your boat.

There was also an interesting comment about the heat panel from a reader, vehemently saying the price is “taking the piss”. Well it’s the recommended retail price, so they’re unlikely to get one cheaper anywhere else. It’s that old saying  ‘you get what you pay for’ I guess.

And the heat panel is a useful addition to any brewer, keeping the temperature of the brew right. It’s also great for keeping your feet warm in winter! Barry’s dear departed mum had one bless her, for those chilly evenings.

Tipton Canal Festival

We weren’t intending on trading at Tipton over the weekend, but had a text from Marianne and Mick from ‘Lollipop Sweets’, saying Wayne, the organiser for Tipton, was asking if we were coming and would find a spot for us if we did.

So we did!

Only for Sunday trading, as we didn’t arrive until late on Saturday after filling up and pumping out at the marina where Areandare had been snuggled up while we were away.

It was very special to catch up with Marrianne and Mick again, as Tipton was their final festival of 2014.

Tipton won’t go down as our most successful festival, there was lots of interest, but sadly a dearth of handing over of cash! We always find you never know what will eventuate following these events via the website and online orders though, so we’re not disheartened.

Bob and Sandra, from ‘All Things Spanish/The Ice Cream Boat’ were also there – and they’ll be at Parkhead Festival with us next week, so we’ll have more chance to chat with them.

And guess who else stopped by to say ‘Hi’? Yes, Richard Parry, CRT CEO was there and had a quick chat with us  – next time I’ll aim to remember to take a photo.

Parkhead Canal Festival

Next weekend is a rather special one.

On Friday 26th September we’ll be celebrating five years of happy companionship since we married on the roof of our previous narrowboat, Northern Pride. The weather was absolutely amazing, I think around 23 degrees C all day as you can see below …

Additionally, it’s my 55th birthday on Sunday 28th. Both my delightful daughters will be coming to the boat to help me celebrate so many years of specialness – hurrah!

If any of you are around the area, do come and share our happiness – and buy a spot of home brew too 😉