Broome Park Farm, Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast Accommodation Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire

It is always great to receive positive feedback from guests and I was thrilled to discover this message left by Ben after the families had left. They were certainly a pleasure to have stay!

I bought the board so I can feature the different marmalades made by Joy and also the ‘jam of the day’ but haven’t got round to using it yet - perhaps I have stumbled on an alternative use!

A reasonably dry August has allowed John the chance to catch up with the combining and he seems quite relaxed at the moment, even managing a day off on Sunday to go walking on the Clent Hills with friends. This field along the Ford Road is unusual as it was planted with 2 crops - fodder beet in the centre (green) and barley around the outside - because the farm only wanted 5 acres of fodder beet apparently! So the barley has been combined but the fodder beet won’t be harvested until later to feed the animals over the winter.

Since finishing his GCSEs Rich has been busy making a swing seat for the garden. It was finally finished and moved into position on Sunday (with the help of a tractor and loader!). Guests and family can now sit and admire the view of Neen Savage.

Last Sunday Sandra and I went on a beekeeping course at Hopesay Glebe Farm. It was an opportunity to learn about the art of beekeeping and get some experience of handling bees. The morning was spent in Phil’s sunny garden learning about the life cycle of the bees and the steps necessary to ensure a healthy hive. After a delicious organic lunch using homegrown and local produce (yummy honey and lemon cheescake!) we strolled along quiet country lanes to the hives. This was the scary bit and I was really unsure how I would cope with the bees but once I was suited and wearing protective gloves I was able to handle the frames with confidence. We then headed back to the house to see how to extract and bottle the honey - bringing a small jar of rape honey home as a momento of the day. Sandra and I now plan to share a hive in the Spring as her neighbours are not keen on a urban hive! Check out other courses offered by Phil Moore on his blog - I would certainly recommend them!

Thursday was Burwarton Show - the largest 1 day Agricultural Show in the Country I think! The weather was kind - a beautiful day after all the rain - and the Band played on the Village Green. There is certainly something for everyone at the show from the traditional livestock and handicrafts to the Fun Fair and The Kangaroo Kid as the main ring star attraction. Becky and I made a bee line for the Local Food area once we’d finished playing and sampled a ginger treacle tart, raspberry and pineapple frozen yoghurt and olives - (not all at the same time! ) - and all were very delicious!

The Show Committee (all local volunteers) are to be congratulated as they had worked tirelessly to ensure everyone enjoyed a great day out - we certainly did!