Not too early a start, but not so late that I had to rush. After breakfast I combed the garden for recent windfalls and put them all in a plastic fruit box, a mix of James Grieve, Cox and Bramley, and took them down to St Nicks. I showed the volunteers who were preparing apples for the grinder and press how to use the fruit press, as it's not that simple, and a 5 minute 'workshop' helps.
Then I raced home and had lunch, washed and got changed into my Fiddlesticks gear and loaded up my trailer with bag-o-tricks, unicycles and pedal-go things, and a bag of balloons to give out as 'dogs with apples in their tummies' as prizes (my usual 'dogs dinner' model!). I got to the Environment Centre just before 1pm, the start time. It was a slow start, as it had rained at about midday, but over the course of the next 3 hours, we had 170 people through the gate. I did a 3 apple juggling workshop at 2 and again at 3.15, helped with the 'apple olympics' (apple bobbing, apple and spoon races, apple skittles) and helped with announcing, as I have a loud voice which carries. My favourite activity was helping with the juicing, and I think we juiced enough apples to get about 10 gallons of lovely juice.
There were more stalls there than previous Apple Days, the 'in house' haiku stall, longest apple peel competition, apple pudding competition and a kids storytelling and facepainting area, one stall from Grace working with Abundance, to make some 'apple butter' using a fire-pit made from a washing machine drum and a huge saucepan. Fulford Community Orchard had a stall, as did Jane Thurlow with a big selection of her apples.
I enjoyed two small portions of two apple puddings after the winners were announced, and especially enjoyed meeting Claire from Grace, and Claire's Mum... and we had some good conversations and agreed some bartering next year... I think my pea beans might very well end up in some Grace pickled vegetables! I was given a jar of hot 'apple butter' and a jar of the delectable Grace onion marmalade.
I spent an hour and a half helping finish off the apple juicing and then the clear up afterwards, so I didn't get away at 4, and helped wash down the fruit press before it went back with Barry Potter. I brought a demijohn of juice back, which I'll let turn into cider.
So back before 6 and I collapsed after putting my circus stuff away and bike away. Later, I made a big saucepan of carrot and apple soup on the woodstove.... inspired to add some apple by today's activities.
Showing posts with label Apple Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apple Day. Show all posts
Up reasonably early as had to be ready for David to come round at 9.30am as he's doing the last of the photos for my new publicity leaflet. I really wanted to get a shot of the devilstick balanced on my nose, taken from above, looking down along it's length. So I got changed, got the big ladder out and took it down the garden to the orchard where there is a bit of open space. The light was perfect to begin with... diffuse and misty but 10 minutes later the sun burned through and the lighting got more difficult... a brighter sky meant I couldn't look up as easily without squinting. But, after a bit of manoeuvring and trial and error, we got some good shots.
Then we cycled down to the Novotel which has some good red walls which David really liked when he did the photos last Christmas, so we asked permission and moved pictures off walls and moved a light and tables to get to the right bit of wall. We spent over an hour there, and had a break with a coffee each after which we got some excellent shots.
I had a brief early lunch and got down to St Nicks for Apple Day, where I'd been booked to do Apple Juggling... and to help with announcing (I've a big voice which I can project) and operating the apple press. It was an excellent do, well attended and lots going on. Nettlefoot Kate did her storytelling, popular as ever, the 'Apple Olympics' had apple and spoon races, Andreas did a winning apple peel of about 180cm, and there were lots of some delicious cakes, crumbles and sauces... all made of apple. And juice... the St Nicks staff and volunteers had done a load in the morning and continued crushing and pressing apples all through the afternoon too.
Gill showed up with the boys plus their friend who is spending a lot of time with us, and there were lots of other lovely people there. It wound down around 4pm but I helped sort out various things and didn't leave til 5. I arrived home exhausted.
But after a brief sit down I did do a 45 minute session of compost loading before settling down to some lightweight telly and a delicious pasta-based tea.
A quiet evening... I did consider going to the Green Party music night, a band called Fusion with my drummer friend Keith Jackman, at the Winning Post on Bishopthorpe Road, but I was feeling like a quiet night in just playing Scrabble on Facebook, dealing with fruit on the racks, chatting with Gill etc etc. It was a good evening which couldn't have been better really.
Then we cycled down to the Novotel which has some good red walls which David really liked when he did the photos last Christmas, so we asked permission and moved pictures off walls and moved a light and tables to get to the right bit of wall. We spent over an hour there, and had a break with a coffee each after which we got some excellent shots.
I had a brief early lunch and got down to St Nicks for Apple Day, where I'd been booked to do Apple Juggling... and to help with announcing (I've a big voice which I can project) and operating the apple press. It was an excellent do, well attended and lots going on. Nettlefoot Kate did her storytelling, popular as ever, the 'Apple Olympics' had apple and spoon races, Andreas did a winning apple peel of about 180cm, and there were lots of some delicious cakes, crumbles and sauces... all made of apple. And juice... the St Nicks staff and volunteers had done a load in the morning and continued crushing and pressing apples all through the afternoon too.
Gill showed up with the boys plus their friend who is spending a lot of time with us, and there were lots of other lovely people there. It wound down around 4pm but I helped sort out various things and didn't leave til 5. I arrived home exhausted.
But after a brief sit down I did do a 45 minute session of compost loading before settling down to some lightweight telly and a delicious pasta-based tea.
A quiet evening... I did consider going to the Green Party music night, a band called Fusion with my drummer friend Keith Jackman, at the Winning Post on Bishopthorpe Road, but I was feeling like a quiet night in just playing Scrabble on Facebook, dealing with fruit on the racks, chatting with Gill etc etc. It was a good evening which couldn't have been better really.
Bit of a manic morning including taking my large galvanised bath down to St Nicks on the bike trailer so that apples could be easily washed before cutting in two, removal of major mouldy bits, popping in the crusher and thence into the press.
My stint there started at just before 1, to help set up the press. Jo arrived and set to with washing loads of apples, many of which were windfalls and therefore had some mud, slugs and bits of grass on. Chad, the new dad with a very cutie baby, took charge of the press when I wasn't around. I did some announcing as I have a loud voice and two stints of apple juggling workshop. Ali came and took some of her film, as she's doing a project for her degree and needed to get some shots of Professor Fiddlesticks in action. My family came too, Gill had some good chats with Ali and the boys borrowed Gill's digi camera and did some filming, which when downloaded onto their computer caused great hilarity.
When it officially finished at 4, there were still loads of apples to be processed and some people were intent on continuing to make more apple juice, and asked me to help... so I did but made my excuses and got away at 4.30, came home, got changed, held the fort when Gill went to get some goat's milk for our youngest who prefers this, and then bombed into town to meet up with Ali who needed to talk me through her film project. We met in Borders and her carer went to the station, and we went to City Screen for a drink, something to eat and a good chat. She created a kind of storyboard which was cool! I have to contact my friend Dexter and Kate Lock as they could feature...
Then for 7.40ish we went to the station where Ali was booked onto the train and I was home by soon after 8, to witness the boys larking around on their computer hooting wildly at the film and stills they'd taken. We stopped them though so they could come and watch a programme on the 50th anniversary of Blue Peter, after which they quickly went to bed.
Gill and I had a good game of Scrabble. I only just won.
My stint there started at just before 1, to help set up the press. Jo arrived and set to with washing loads of apples, many of which were windfalls and therefore had some mud, slugs and bits of grass on. Chad, the new dad with a very cutie baby, took charge of the press when I wasn't around. I did some announcing as I have a loud voice and two stints of apple juggling workshop. Ali came and took some of her film, as she's doing a project for her degree and needed to get some shots of Professor Fiddlesticks in action. My family came too, Gill had some good chats with Ali and the boys borrowed Gill's digi camera and did some filming, which when downloaded onto their computer caused great hilarity.
When it officially finished at 4, there were still loads of apples to be processed and some people were intent on continuing to make more apple juice, and asked me to help... so I did but made my excuses and got away at 4.30, came home, got changed, held the fort when Gill went to get some goat's milk for our youngest who prefers this, and then bombed into town to meet up with Ali who needed to talk me through her film project. We met in Borders and her carer went to the station, and we went to City Screen for a drink, something to eat and a good chat. She created a kind of storyboard which was cool! I have to contact my friend Dexter and Kate Lock as they could feature...
Then for 7.40ish we went to the station where Ali was booked onto the train and I was home by soon after 8, to witness the boys larking around on their computer hooting wildly at the film and stills they'd taken. We stopped them though so they could come and watch a programme on the 50th anniversary of Blue Peter, after which they quickly went to bed.
Gill and I had a good game of Scrabble. I only just won.
I got a lie-in til 8.30, as the noise levels increased downstairs as Gill tried to get the boys ready for school, so I came down and chivvied them out of the house. It's amazing how much more quickly an 8 year-old boy will put their own shoe on when you offer to help them do it... they then have to prove that they don't need help and actually get on with it!
I was due to go to town and do various jobs before my little holiday next week, but I had a very leaky nose and felt grotty, then I looked at my diary and saw that Simon from Yellow Pages had booked to come and visit me regarding my advertising with them, so I lit the stove and got a coffee and did some washing up, Gill went out as she has more stuff to do in town. I did my emails to find out if my friend had landed, but there was no message, so I wondered what had happened.
The Yellow Pages rep recognised me from the telly programme last week, and we took some time to get onto the subject of advertising Professor Fiddlesticks. I didn't want to spend any more money with them, but was persuaded to have a listing with Yell (dot) Com and to afford this I am not having a one-line listing in the Leeds directory, which has not given me many returns. Apparently the Yell advert will give me a better coverage. But Simon did his job well and I'll be paying more next year than this!
I got an email from Community Care saying would it be possible to get my column in by this afternoon? I did some online research about Ethical Investment, which I don't know much about, and continued writing my 350 words.
Then I got an email from St Nicks saying that they would be sending someone over to pick up my apple press and crusher at 2pm, for use at Apple Day on the 6th of October. So I had to excavate that from the studio, all the time sneezing and snuffling and blowing my nose, and feeling rubbish.
I got my column typed in by 3pm and cycled down to school to pick up the boys. My youngest asked if he could visit one of his friends, so he went one way, and I came home with the eldest, who only noticed we didn't have his brother once we'd got home! On the way home I chatted with a friend of mine, who's a chemist and very well informed, and she's not convinced that the paint on top of the sleepers will stop the creosote coming through, and she said if she felt brave enough, she'd raise it at school at a meeting tonight.
Once I got home I felt so poorly I went to bed and fell asleep with New Scientist in my hand. I was woken by a phone call from my friend, who had sent me some emails since landing at Manchester Airport, but they'd not got through to me. I was pleased she was safe and sound.
I made my own tea, finishing up the weird-tasting mushroom soup and putting some pasta in, left over from Gill's tea, and heating that on the woodstove, plus making some eggy-bread the same way, using a discarded organic loaf with the crusts cut off. It was very filling and dirt cheap, a good thing considering that I'm about to spend a large amount on a new bicycle.
After tea, before it got dark, I did a bit of putting stuff on the newest compost heap, and cut a bit more hedge. Then came in and sorted out the stove, got enought hot water for my boy to have a bath. Then I refilled the pans as I want to have a bath later. Gill and I enjoyed watching Carol Vorderman on BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?', about ancestry and family origins. We had a game of Scrabble and I won, again.
Enjoyed my bath at midnight.
I was due to go to town and do various jobs before my little holiday next week, but I had a very leaky nose and felt grotty, then I looked at my diary and saw that Simon from Yellow Pages had booked to come and visit me regarding my advertising with them, so I lit the stove and got a coffee and did some washing up, Gill went out as she has more stuff to do in town. I did my emails to find out if my friend had landed, but there was no message, so I wondered what had happened.
The Yellow Pages rep recognised me from the telly programme last week, and we took some time to get onto the subject of advertising Professor Fiddlesticks. I didn't want to spend any more money with them, but was persuaded to have a listing with Yell (dot) Com and to afford this I am not having a one-line listing in the Leeds directory, which has not given me many returns. Apparently the Yell advert will give me a better coverage. But Simon did his job well and I'll be paying more next year than this!
I got an email from Community Care saying would it be possible to get my column in by this afternoon? I did some online research about Ethical Investment, which I don't know much about, and continued writing my 350 words.
Then I got an email from St Nicks saying that they would be sending someone over to pick up my apple press and crusher at 2pm, for use at Apple Day on the 6th of October. So I had to excavate that from the studio, all the time sneezing and snuffling and blowing my nose, and feeling rubbish.
I got my column typed in by 3pm and cycled down to school to pick up the boys. My youngest asked if he could visit one of his friends, so he went one way, and I came home with the eldest, who only noticed we didn't have his brother once we'd got home! On the way home I chatted with a friend of mine, who's a chemist and very well informed, and she's not convinced that the paint on top of the sleepers will stop the creosote coming through, and she said if she felt brave enough, she'd raise it at school at a meeting tonight.
Once I got home I felt so poorly I went to bed and fell asleep with New Scientist in my hand. I was woken by a phone call from my friend, who had sent me some emails since landing at Manchester Airport, but they'd not got through to me. I was pleased she was safe and sound.
I made my own tea, finishing up the weird-tasting mushroom soup and putting some pasta in, left over from Gill's tea, and heating that on the woodstove, plus making some eggy-bread the same way, using a discarded organic loaf with the crusts cut off. It was very filling and dirt cheap, a good thing considering that I'm about to spend a large amount on a new bicycle.
After tea, before it got dark, I did a bit of putting stuff on the newest compost heap, and cut a bit more hedge. Then came in and sorted out the stove, got enought hot water for my boy to have a bath. Then I refilled the pans as I want to have a bath later. Gill and I enjoyed watching Carol Vorderman on BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?', about ancestry and family origins. We had a game of Scrabble and I won, again.
Enjoyed my bath at midnight.
