For some time, Ray worked at Uphill's, the agricultural machinery dealer in Chewton Mendip. Uphills were a dealer for Zetor Tractors, made in what was then Czechosolvakia (this was before the fall of the Iron Curtain).
When perusing the Zetor parts catalogue one day, Ray noticed an entry for "Pilsner, 12 x 1l". The currency converted cost was about ?12. Intrigued as to what this might be, Ray ordered one along with the next parts shipment, and was rewarded some weeks later with a delivery of which included a box of 12 one litre bottles of Pilsner Urquell, also a product of what was to become the Czech Republic. This was well before the brand had ever been heard of in the UK, and even then (1990) a 1 litre bottle of beer for a quid was outstanding value for money. Knowing it had been imported as tractor spares only made it taste better.