The thatching is going really well and has been an amazing experience. I am so glad that the birds had all finished breeding - there are a lot of sparrows that nest in the eaves. The thatching material is water reed, from Hungary. It would have been wheat straw years ago, and I wonder if cottages here were ever thatched with common rush which grows so well - we have lots of it in various damp spots. The ridge of the roof will be perfectly plain, following the typical old Devon style.