Having ordered just six days before, it was a touch optimistic to think my new home brewing equipment would arrive before I was due to go on holiday and, as the Friday approached and went with no change in the no show situation, I was resigned to the think it would be sitting uncollected at the local Post Office for a whole week.
Obviously I was practically inconsolable at this terrible situation, not least because it makes an otherwise mundane story seem exciting, so on the Saturday I was due to go off to Stansted Airport, I thought I’d check the tracking information on the supplier’s website and low and behold, it had been at the Parcel Force depot in Chelmsford since Thursday. Thanks for letting me know Parcel Force! Pretty convinced that it would be sent back to the supplier by the time I had a chance to go and pick it up, I made an impromptu mad, within the speed limits at all times, officer, dash down the A12.
And so, my home brewery plaything since 1993, aptly named Flochy o’Swibble County Kak Jack now has all the hardware necessary to produce short runs of just 5 litres of ale in a glass demijohn and metal cask and all the ingredients required to make some kind of Pale Ale from grain; perfect for a tiny little flat in Brentwood.