A wildlife charity is hoping that a crate of beer with a rock music provenance will help to secures its financial future.
The Folly Wildlife Rescue charity, near Tunbridge Wells, which treats more than 3,500 animals every year, is faced with imminent closure unless it can generate additional revenue streams to cover mounting costs.
The operation, based in Broadwater Forest, in Kent, has rescued injured, orphaned, and distressed wild animals and birds for more than 30 years.
It will be forced to reduce its operating hours from the end of September and close entirely by the end of the year without an influx of cash, said general manager Liz Chandler, whose parents founded the trust.
The trust has been handed a potential lifeline by patron Sandra Beck, the widow of the late rock guitarist Jeff, who lived nearby.
Shortly before he died, Jeff received a 12-bottle case of Old Stinkhorn Organic Ale from his friend and former Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney. The charity hopes to auction the beer, named after the eponymous fungus prevalent at hop-picking time, as part of a series of emergency fundraising measures.
The beer was made by Sir Paul’s company MPL Communications. It is brewed in small batches in Sussex, close to the former Beatle’s farm, although Beer Today can’t deduce exactly where. Sir Paul has made a point of giving bottles of the beer to friends.
