At Bosbury: Band of brothers: The hop team x

The hop harvest is a fast moving operation. Most have worked this hop harvest before, and have come back year after year. A few have worked this farms hop harvest for what seems to be a life time, 14 or so seasons. A couple of the older ones were born amongst the fields and have worked the hops for more than 65 years.

Imagine how time has changed those seasons. George, pictured yesterday wonders what will become of the future. He says, everything has changed so fast in his life time, that he believes that the world just cannot keep up. It's lost. It's people are lost. Time changes without time to consider the change, he says.

I photographed the lads on the fields today. They are a pleasure to watch. Seamless. Effortless. The tractor pulling the boys expertly balanced on the back. Sweeping the hop vines from the wires one motion, one sure hit with a hand scythe. The other lad pulling the vines into place. Another walking ahead slashing the vines free for the pick up team and another behind, picking up the few dropped hops heads of the ground.

There is not one, that cannot work without the other. The boys banter the whole time. Comradely. Trust. Trust that one man will help the next to do his job. They sit around a makeshift bonfire for lunch. Burnt kettle on top, a fried egg pan aside. It doesn't get better than this. Simple team spirit, gets a hop harvest done the old fashioned way. Old ways are sometimes the best....x