Country diary: a red tyrant thrashing straw for thatching

Chideock, Dorset: It takes five workers eight hours to thrash three acres worth of wheat reed. That's enough to thatch the average 30-foot cottage

The smell strikes you first. A mealy odour, dry and tickly, of clean straw and grain. Beneath it, a hint of juiciness, from bruised ears of wheat beaten to release their kernels. Seeds shaken free leap and bounce into the waiting trailer. Some will be sown for next year's crop; the rest go for cattle feed.