If there’s one thing that perks my ears up it’s the promise of ale! That’s why I make sure I attend the Sheriff’s Assize of Ale every year. It’s a Gloucester tradition dating back to medieval times and involves a man, some leather trousers and only the finest ale.

It’s said that, back in the day, it was used to determine how palatable an ale was, and quite simply all that happens is a man dons some leather trousers and sits in a pool of ale on a wooden stool. Not the most glamorous event you might think, but if after 3 minutes the trousers stick to the stool, the ale has failed the almighty test!

I, naturally, acted as Town Crier and lead the procession into each public house to make sure we could determine the quality of their ale. As well as providing the city with an ale testing service, we were also raising money for the James Hopkins Trust, which you can find further information on here.