Harvesting

This is the apple harvest from GBT...yes every single one of them in all their glory. It's a tiny little tree and the branches have been at breaking point with this lot dangling off them. Actually I lied...this was the harvest except the marauding masses have eaten some since this photo was taken yesterday. It matters not...I am delighted to have our own fruit even on this modest scale.

Earlier this week one of my clients was telling me that she'd had the press gang in from the village who had relieved her of her crop of windfalls. Thankfully it's all in a good cause though. Annually the village come together to collect all the fruit which would otherwise go to waste. Volunteers then chop, scrat and press the apples into juice and hold some back for cider. Not only is it a great community building project, but some of the income raised from the sales has been donated towards a local children's hospice and contributions made to the village Book Exchange. 

Recently I read the folkloric belief is that the taste of cider can be improved if a dead rat is incorporated into the brew [thanks to the Farnham Rural Life museum for that little gem]. Having tasted the village cider myself I can only politely describe it as an "acquired" taste. Not an experience I am planning on repeating anytime soon. Cheers!

Arilx