Many years ago, Michael and his brother, John, established Ashgrove Cheese and that's a real success story. As part of the set-up phase, Michael was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship to travel to Europe to look at cheese-making. Apparently, Nuffield scholars keep in touch and have regular reunions, and this year they gathered on Nova Scotia. He and Maureen were invited to talk about the trip.
Having two guest speakers is a bit like a tennis match: one speaks and then the other. If they are polite, it can be quite worthwhile. If they both have something to say, it can be more like a rugby match as they tussle for the microphone. It wasn't quite as bad as that although there were a few tense moments.
They certainly had a lot to talk about. It seems to be an extraordinary place. One of the big industries is lobster fishing with dozens of boats making a living from this resource. It's well-regulated but there seems to be no shortage and, while our crayfish can fetch $150 per kilo, the Nova Scotian are lucky to get $15 or $16. The story is that the lobsters were kept in check by the cod but now that cod have been fished out, there are no predators. So the fishermen are making hay while the sun shines if you'll excuse a mixed metaphor.
We also saw a farmer collecting maple syrup - very primitive methods but that's just how they do it.
Nova Scotia is certainly a place to visit. More Scottish than Scotland and some of the road signs are in Gaelic. Unbelievable!
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