Well a Hitchin hill to be precise, and he's not lonely at all and so that's where any similarity with the famous musical ends.
There I was, 20 minutes late, standing at the gate of Wobbly Bottom Goat Farm just off the Pirton Road in Hitchin wondering what on earth I had let myself in for.
I knew that this wasn't going to be a normal appointment when a man with a wheelbarrow wearing Shorts, wooly jumper and carpet slippers strode past and up to the farm house. He took one look at me in my Matheson and Brooke bespoke suit and just carried on walking.
I followed, determined, intrigued and ever so slightly nervous. This was going to be a tough one. "Alan Bungey?" I asked with my best cheesy smile.
So, I tagged along as we collected the feed from the silo, fed the goats, then headed off to the cheese factory with yours truly extolling the virtues of joining thebestof Hitchin and how we could raise the profile and showcase this local manufacturer of, well, goats cheese!
We scrubbed up, I discarded my modestly priced Italian designer shoes for a pair of kids Crocs (no pun intended) and made goats cheese.
Alan added some liquid to the vat of milk that apparently acts as a separator, whilst I timed the process, then we checked the PH value as I talked about our bestof Hitchin networking, our presence on Google and about some of our member businesses that I would love to introduce him too such as Campbell and Toft, Taste Buds to name but a few.
He did smile at my expense when, as we were on our way to the cheese factory he pointed to my shoes that were covered in goats poo and straw - I looked like a really posh scarecrow!
At the end of the meeting Alan gave me a packet of his home made soft goats cheese with sweet peppers, which I am savouring as I write this blog.
I felt as though I had passed some kind of test and when all is said and done I thoroughly enjoyed my meeting with Alan Bungey, owner of local cheese manufacturer Wobbly Bottom Farm in Wibbly Wobbly Lane on the edge of Hitchin. Truly a local treasure and one that Hitchin should be proud of. Thank you Alan.
