tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62702620495108164072024-03-06T01:32:13.838-08:00Torkard CiderDays in the life of keen, small-scale Nottinghamshire craft real-cider makers.Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-63947384986096703242011-02-19T04:04:00.000-08:002011-02-19T04:07:05.139-08:00Catching up - Again! <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="background-color: black; color: lime; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em><strong>Where did the time go...?</strong></em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well here we are in 2011 and I see that the last time I scribbled anything on here was back in November 2010... </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">So what's happened since? Well, snow and lots of it, of course, which caused us major problems of frozen fruit, burst pipes on the water-feed to the cider-shed and worst of all, a shattered valve and tap on our water-heater in the washing and cleaning area of the cider-shed. The latter took a lot of time and expense to repair and replace, and stopped us dead. All is fixed now so we are up and running again.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">We let some of our cider out to two festivals in February this year - way too early of course, but folks want it, so... The first was one box we sent out to the Chesterfield Beer Festival where it seems to have had a hit-and-miss reception - as we expected to be honest, with it being so young. However, over the weekend of the 11th - 12th February, we agreed to sort out some cider for the Hucknall Beer Festival & Farmer's Market, the first after an absence of seven years.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Rather then get the usual rubbish of national "ciders" often seen at small festivals, I wanted to match the beers, virtually all LocAle to Hucknall, that were being sorted by the good folk at Nottingham CAMRA. So I thought I'd see if the local folk were up for some Local and East Midland's cider and perry...? </span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdslli6wV7iY6c0P-nyQGVbrj9Emmp_6hIq3C5k5rmhjIkhWuJ6rJl6PLEj5cxKwkn_WRj-eMipCgJBSvx-DMAKokWsmjAzOg6q56QvI3YdBiqrg20K9I1DY5bMC1Ivoi3b_AU0ErB30w/s1600/m_P1000164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdslli6wV7iY6c0P-nyQGVbrj9Emmp_6hIq3C5k5rmhjIkhWuJ6rJl6PLEj5cxKwkn_WRj-eMipCgJBSvx-DMAKokWsmjAzOg6q56QvI3YdBiqrg20K9I1DY5bMC1Ivoi3b_AU0ErB30w/s320/m_P1000164.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>The East Midlands Ciders on sale at the Hucknall Beer Festival.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My first call was to Mark and Karen at Rockingham Forest Cider to see if they had anything I could beg...? I was offered a 2009 cider made with Worcestershire-grown cider apples and a 2009 single-variety 'Malvern Hills' perry. Perfect! To this I added a box of our popular "Floppy Tabs" cider made from a blend of Nottinghamshire-grown dessert apples and a box of our "Sheep Wash" cider which is also made with Nott's grown apples, with a good </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">dash of tannic crab-apples thrown in. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We opened at 11am on Friday 11th and by 7pm all of the Torkard cider was gone, quickly followed by the Rockingham Forest cider. The perry held out until closing time due to the mouth-drying tannic after-taste which we thought was great but was perhaps a little too stringent for the locals. So I had to get up early the next day and fill another 3 x 20L boxes of cider: two "Floppy Tabs" and another "Sheep Wash". These too were emptied very quickly and all had gone by 8pm on the saturday. I think that is known as a Sell Out.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We were very pleased by all of the great comments and positive feedback about the ciders - even the vicar liked our "Floppy Tabs" - and we hope to be involved in the planning and running of the 2012 Hucknall Beer Festival. Oh the beers? Well they all sold out as well - by about 9pm! </span>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-2231287820599323022010-11-19T01:38:00.000-08:002010-11-19T01:38:49.431-08:00Ownership of stuff on-line<strong><em><span style="color: lime; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fess up those who abuse copyright...</span></em></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not very happy at the moment to find that a certain James Russell, blog writer and 'author' of 'The Naked Guide to Cider' is using one of my photos both on his blog and (apparently - because I haven't read it) in his book. Now I'm an open minded and dare I say, helpful chap, giving up lots of time to help folks learn about and become confident in making their own cider - and for all the hours I help people I don't charge a penny. Most of what I do is of course on groups such as </span><a href="http://www.ciderworkshop.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Cider Workshop</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (the real one; not the sub-standard clones generated by ukcider's empire-building activities) and in particular as an Admin member of the Cider Workshop </span><a href="http://groups.google.com/group/cider-workshop?pli=1"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Google-group</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> . I am also helping a number of folks local to me here in Nottinghamshire and across the border into Derbyshire with help vie email or at the end of a phone. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfQzewMmSmgbVBlGF6v_uaLqG8uFRo1rfNmTwmXR-XvYIHVCv8hC_h6fYfuFYow8aGL9jkwHhlXdS2YQowDf-tPdiIH-EAlychRyKzqtYDBeyNe8gcwVrYAaYTvKDb9s5Ilt6v_ooXjk/s1600/DSCF0377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfQzewMmSmgbVBlGF6v_uaLqG8uFRo1rfNmTwmXR-XvYIHVCv8hC_h6fYfuFYow8aGL9jkwHhlXdS2YQowDf-tPdiIH-EAlychRyKzqtYDBeyNe8gcwVrYAaYTvKDb9s5Ilt6v_ooXjk/s320/DSCF0377.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was surfing those blogs with stuff about cider when I spotted a link to an article about my good friend and fellow cider-maker Rose Grant, when I stumbled across one of the photos that I took in 2006 during a visit to Rose's wonderful Dorset cider-making emporium (shown left). The photo showed no acknowledgement of the photographer. After contacting Rose, I am told that the same photo appears in James Russell's book for which I assume he is getting money. Again, it would appear that the photo has been used without checking whether he has the right to use it from the owner of said image (me) who I would assume still owns intellectual and moral rights to the image... </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't blame Rose, she just passed over some images; as she says, she doesn't take photos of herself. Rose asked if she could use the image on her own blog and of course, I had no objections. But I am not happy that the person who now uses these images for profit did not check fully that he had the right to do so. Let's make it clear as well that I don't want any money out of Mr Russell's pocket; judging by all of the mass email onslaught and on-line 'presence' being generated to publicise his book, he should be making a pretty dollar out of it? However, if I started copying stuff out his blog, book(s) or whatever and started making money from it, I'm quite sure he wouldn't be very happy.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have tried to contact Mr. Russell via his blog and via a direct Twitter message to ask him about why he is using my image without my permission or acknowledgement, but he hasn't responded. Maybe he's out of the country...?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">If anyone spots him at one of the events to publicise his book that he pushes via Twitter and Facebook, maybe you could let him know that I am trying to contact him? Or perhaps ask him on my behalf whether he is certain that he has the right to use all of the content in his book with the permission of the copyright owners? </span>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-43434693169000903492010-09-29T08:58:00.000-07:002010-09-29T09:11:41.231-07:00Out and About with the BeebThe good folks at <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/nottingham/hi/">BBC Radio Nottingham</a> have been very supportive of our efforts to produce <span style="color: lime;"><strong>true, real Nottinghamshire ciders</strong></span>. They have also cottoned on to the fact that as Nottinghamshire's only commercial producers of real cider, we are a bit unique. OK I know we are a very small producer but size isn't everything (cough!). <br />
<br />
Following a recent visit to the BBC Radio Nottingham studios to chat with <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001ymvh">Andy Whittaker</a> (who is a very nice man) and taste our cider - at 8.20 in the morning I might add - a quick appeal for apples and pears has resulted in the good folk of Nottinghamshire answering the call to arms. We have been very pleased by the response of folks who have fruit to spare that would otherwise be going to waste, composted or left to rot. We don't want to take the best fruit, as for cider it doesn't really matter what it looks like or if it is a bit bruised. Lots of people have phoned us or emailed us to let us know what they have going spare; some folks like <strong>Mr. Chappel</strong> in Hucknall, just turned up at our base with the car loaded with ready-picked and boxed-up apples. How kind and cool is that?<br />
<br />
However, we would just like to point out that we can only collect so much fruit per day - and Nottinghamshire is a big county - so if we haven't got back to you straight away, don't panic. Many varieties of apple are still not fully ripened sufficiently for cider-making (they need to be starting to soften) so always remember that just because they are falling from the tree does not mean they are fully ripe. Thankfully we didn't need to turn many folks down as nearly everyone heeded our plea that Bramley's are not too much use to us for cider - they contain too much acidity for cider unless left to ripen for some months. <br />
<br />
So yesterday I wound my way around Nottingham's ring-road (joy of joys) to the little town of <span style="color: cyan;"><strong>Ruddington</strong></span>, just south of the city. Here I met up with <span style="color: cyan;"><strong>Verity Cowley</strong></span>, radio journalist for BBC Radio Nottingham and <strong><span style="color: cyan;">Dan Sinclair</span></strong> who is a 'back-room boy' if you like, at BBC Nottingham - whizz-kid with a camera and website production. We went first to Kathy and Ken's house who had phoned me offering Worcester Pearmains from their trees. I also spotted a pear tree in their garden and Ken kindly offered to let me have any spare Winter Nelis (the pear variety) for use in making a Nottinghamshire perry. An offer not to be refused! Verity followed the activities with microphone-in-hand getting sound bites and noises-off, while Dan snapped away from multitudinous angles and distances.<br />
<br />
We then went across town to visit John and Jean, who had phoned me that very morning saying they had a couple of trees if I was interested...? John's garden was very large and impressive with neat lawns, productful vegetable plots and greenhouses, and some lovely big old apple trees: Beauty of Bath, Newton Wonder and some unknown apple that was very crisp and sweet, and reminded me of a Cox of some sort. John did point out a very large Bramley tree, but quickly added; "I know you are not interested in Bramley's..." The Beauty of Bath were a lovely deep red, very juicey and when cut open, showed red and pink tinged hues through the flesh. John thought they were too soft, but with a quick press of the pad of my thumb, the juice flowed - perfect state of ripeness for cider-making.<br />
<br />
Once again Verity and Dan started recording sound and images while I spread out the tarpaulins under the tree and started to shake the apples down from the branches. John joined in and soon the apples were raining down and slapping onto the tarpaulins. Sack after sack were filled and the trailer was soon full of sweet-smelling apples. Time was against us so I am going back to John's to collect more of the Cox-like apples, perhaps in a couple of weeks when they will be riper.<br />
<br />
The fruit of Dan's labours can be seen <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/nottingham/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_9040000/9040002.stm">here on the BBC Nottingham website</a> - just try to ignore the fat bloke with the glasses on... Verity's interviews and sound-bites will be broadcast on the morning of 30th September on BBC Radio Nottingham, between 8.00 and 9.00 am.<br />
<br />
Great day, great fun. It is good meeting up with the friendly folk of Nottinghamshire.Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-91783271156345826022010-09-25T05:22:00.000-07:002010-09-25T05:22:47.839-07:00Tempus fugit - ad nauseum!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuwOlNBigqXj5EburgT5t96oLeganxeEGipzarL9TdS1Vq5JXPKtW6gHGBq9V_FlZ50ckzFXU0SFlzvT7-kj1zJTBj3-eQaKXEBmmEkwVW1OFgRmc0z8gOGFKQ1yKZs-cFBWrbIQsx0Y/s1600/m_P1000556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuwOlNBigqXj5EburgT5t96oLeganxeEGipzarL9TdS1Vq5JXPKtW6gHGBq9V_FlZ50ckzFXU0SFlzvT7-kj1zJTBj3-eQaKXEBmmEkwVW1OFgRmc0z8gOGFKQ1yKZs-cFBWrbIQsx0Y/s320/m_P1000556.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset from Croft Ambrey on summer-solstice 2010</td></tr>
</tbody></table> There just aren't enough hours in the day at the moment... What a busy summer - where did it go? One minute we were watching the sun set on Summer Solstice day from the summit of Croft Ambrey Iron-age hill fort north of Leominster in the company of the Marches Cyder Circle, the next... Well - being inundated with offers of apples and pears of all sorts from the good folks of Nottinghamshire, after listening to our little interview, tasting and appeal for excess fruit on BBC Radio Nottingham. Mind you, drinking our 8.4% ABV cider at 8.20am is not the sort of thing I'd recommend you do on a daily basis...<br />
<br />
The work on the plot continues - sadly I have not been able to reach the big pear tree in time so I fear the pears - whatever they are - will be lost for this year. We have had bumper crops of Blackberries, Blackcurrants, Gages, Damsons, Plums - and of course apples. We threw lots of these into jams and crumbles and pies. The battle with the brambles shows little sign of success but we have shifted a great deal and are making headway. We need to clear the rest soon to get the heeled-in trees into the ground. Yarly was sort of helpful, but wasn't too keen on the bramble thorns having-a-go at her pads. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8cUa963cBjGyTHCCi07FifUSFE9j26g0zBrD82l1HgUtEooVsHNXgrJLE4Gh3d-PyIPMbiqlrtZIKEa5RyYs8p54SRPxyNZ3cWWDyotL0jJ4Tt4vJzKlU9Pg2QdIAOw0mo6gmgOWp0Y/s1600/Yarly_Clring_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8cUa963cBjGyTHCCi07FifUSFE9j26g0zBrD82l1HgUtEooVsHNXgrJLE4Gh3d-PyIPMbiqlrtZIKEa5RyYs8p54SRPxyNZ3cWWDyotL0jJ4Tt4vJzKlU9Pg2QdIAOw0mo6gmgOWp0Y/s320/Yarly_Clring_2.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yarly posing in front of a wall of brambles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The cider shed is now filled with lovely smells and delightful 'plopping' sounds as the first ciders of 2010 get underway on their fermenting-journey into 2011. Gravities are still low-ish compared to last year, being around SG 1046 - SG 1050 (6.0% - 6.5% ABV). We hope to have a little cider ready by the early part of 2011 to supply a festival or two. However, we do want to keep the sales limited this year until we are sure it is at it's best. But the phone keeps ringing, the emails still keep coming in and people still want it for their pubs and festivals, even though we sold out in early August. We are hoping to take delivery of some 1,000 litre IBC's soon so that we can try to satisfy demand with our planned increase in production. <br />
<br />
The last of the pre-ordered 2010 ciders will go out of the door in a couple of weeks for the <strong><span style="color: cyan;">2010 Nottingham CAMRA Robin Hood Beer & Cider Festival </span></strong>(14th - 17th October). <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zqZM2LGpObPUoBQNCqoackYn9mFeheYr7GzM98I0I-3I6K44Hjla4Z7MYR9hYZJEVXkE0l5Vijo89qWiyC78Onv2mss9JJGHy8NudYDBN84RofAOjXH4aajqCDzxylc-Pc5t_bKpF8o/s1600/MorganSwt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zqZM2LGpObPUoBQNCqoackYn9mFeheYr7GzM98I0I-3I6K44Hjla4Z7MYR9hYZJEVXkE0l5Vijo89qWiyC78Onv2mss9JJGHy8NudYDBN84RofAOjXH4aajqCDzxylc-Pc5t_bKpF8o/s200/MorganSwt.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgan Sweet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The first fruits have ripened well on our new 'orchard plot' - the lovely big and juicy Morgan Sweets have already been processed and the bright red Tremlett's Bitters will join them soon. A few Yarlington Mill's and Harry Master's Jersey's will need a few more weeks to ripen I think. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4-ZmLXX27rSXJNaSODbZHQIjLKNtOevot6bznBanbulbrBympNlcLzH3q2o4NsluMxgNJLjNsjVnHRZQFtJWV-WSZW7PAOlDPlHwA8NIVXaaloYin8-PjN2Nr2GWsw1hylBhei797FI/s1600/Tremletts.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4-ZmLXX27rSXJNaSODbZHQIjLKNtOevot6bznBanbulbrBympNlcLzH3q2o4NsluMxgNJLjNsjVnHRZQFtJWV-WSZW7PAOlDPlHwA8NIVXaaloYin8-PjN2Nr2GWsw1hylBhei797FI/s200/Tremletts.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tremletts Bitter</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-68454170226106227282010-05-20T03:48:00.000-07:002010-05-20T03:51:17.763-07:00Figgy Pudding...<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><em><span style="color: lime; font-size: large;">Maybe one year......?</span></em></div><div align="justify" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_K3l32wNOi2K_Oe0yPRoEBxv9iAek6ycYy3tpjelSe0Iskp1HrjZtI1SVbOWkPg3acAw6LFkFa0C3SOeI3fpqycjN65W-22_VvsTZn7j0__m5MhDxVQ8JPUYdMVFwj_tthwYhe_40Me4/s1600/m_Fig+May10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_K3l32wNOi2K_Oe0yPRoEBxv9iAek6ycYy3tpjelSe0Iskp1HrjZtI1SVbOWkPg3acAw6LFkFa0C3SOeI3fpqycjN65W-22_VvsTZn7j0__m5MhDxVQ8JPUYdMVFwj_tthwYhe_40Me4/s200/m_Fig+May10.JPG" width="200" wt="true" /></a>A wander around the <span style="color: cyan;">Torkard Estates</span> revealed that the Fig tree that we planted in 2009 has survived the winter cold and the wet. This was a great surprise being that we bought this sad little specimen from the local Wilkinson's hardware store when they were selling them off; it had been left on the shelf, un-watered and was in a very bad way. For a few pence though, I thought it worth a go and so it was taken home and planted where we used to have a large Madeleine Angevine grape vine growing up the wall of the house. Lots of TLC and plenty of grit have meant that it has struggled through and now has lots of bright green fresh growth. I love figs and when we travel around Spain, I am always amazed by the number of wild fig trees growing at the side of the country roads. I have no idea whether it will ever bear fruit, but it is in a sheltered sun-trap so we will see. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKfJs3FQ5YIJiQ7e_6xhD5WX8GL246uO-uLoAnbNeavNBYAJANinnAPd3ypq-XFTcKiwd1-FzGFLFr-WuMEyAf4UdCeJAxOGjuK6vuER0rlu8xHedSTUukjjr2Vp71h7ORgYZu6MC9YLc/s1600/m_Tremletts2+May10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKfJs3FQ5YIJiQ7e_6xhD5WX8GL246uO-uLoAnbNeavNBYAJANinnAPd3ypq-XFTcKiwd1-FzGFLFr-WuMEyAf4UdCeJAxOGjuK6vuER0rlu8xHedSTUukjjr2Vp71h7ORgYZu6MC9YLc/s320/m_Tremletts2+May10.JPG" width="240" wt="true" /></a> After journeying to one of the further-flung <span style="color: cyan;">Torkard Estates</span>, I was very pleased to find that the blossom had opened on some of our <span style="color: yellow;">Tremlett's Bitter</span> cider-apple trees. This is the second season that these trees have been in the ground, so I am going to let the blossom stay on the trees with the hope of getting a couple of these full bittersweet apples. I will have to thin them though if too many apples set - these babies really need more time to develop strong roots and some form of structure before I can let them (hopefully!) go mad and bear lots of fruit. <strong>Yarly </strong>(our young dog in the background) can't understand why I spend so much time fiddling with the trees instead of playing with her... </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Yarly</strong> was very inquisitive and provided good company when I went exploring around the third side of our plot... We have cleared one side and spent some time repairing, training and replanting the original Hawthorn hedge; we have also had to remove a great deal of Elder, which although provides flowers and fruit great for wine, is a pain in the way it stunts and slows the growth of Hawthorn by the amount of shade it casts. The second boundary has been partly cleared of the tangle of briars and other growths - the old Hawthorn hedge had previously been mostly hacked down apart from a couple of stumps - but there are a number of plum-type trees growing further along the boundary which I suspect are either Sloe or Damson, though I've not seen much evidence of typical blossom. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrf9J69M_UJ0lPewfRKP4D2kUt8vMcIDvqunhRmOlwZioSMAXK0M9cnBnrrBiJtiIiWogmQ3YMMIixnXl3hbL97Apm0D72NWKhtiONaHzvMcFaxi8awd-FZoMd2xDWoMehDJ4TkDiSYoA/s1600/m_DSCF1495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrf9J69M_UJ0lPewfRKP4D2kUt8vMcIDvqunhRmOlwZioSMAXK0M9cnBnrrBiJtiIiWogmQ3YMMIixnXl3hbL97Apm0D72NWKhtiONaHzvMcFaxi8awd-FZoMd2xDWoMehDJ4TkDiSYoA/s400/m_DSCF1495.JPG" width="400" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The above photo was taken after we'd eventually reached the far opposite corner of the plot from the entrance. It took a good few hours to hack and chainsaw my way through the undergrowth to reach this corner, where I uncovered a pear tree of unknown origin - it had been so well hidden by the overgrown hedges and ivy that I never knew it was there! Looking at the photo, the amount of work still to be done to clear the rest of the plot before the autumn is daunting, but it will be fun (I hope). Fingers crossed that I do not find any more Japanese Knotweed... </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I also have a bag of onion sets that I need to get into the ground... plus a load of Garlic sets that I have nurtured from our own garden. Better start digging. </div>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-84970985008031530262010-04-29T13:00:00.000-07:002010-04-29T13:05:30.407-07:00Fresh young thing...<em><span style="color: lime; font-size: large;">2 Bees has landed</span></em><br />
<br />
We were offered quite a few <strong><span style="color: yellow;">Jonagold</span></strong> apples last year and as these are dessert apples, I was not sure what to do with them. Jonagolds are an American-bred apple from the 1940's, produced by cross-pollinating <strong><span style="color: red;">Jonathan</span></strong> apples with <strong><span style="color: cyan;">Golden Delicious</span></strong>... hence the name. The fact that Golden Delicious apples were part of the Jonagold parenthood, did not endear them to me! However, after consulting with the good and knowledgeable folks on <a href="http://groups.google.co.uk/group/cider-workshop?hl=en&pli=1">The Cider Workshop</a> the news came from some folks "across the pond" in the US of A that Jonagolds make a perfectly good cider. So the idea of fermenting them separately and seeing if they were suitable as a single-variety cider germinated. <br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNod2nwhJfCwMYLmQhv5XyJ9NiOd9vZzn3y69fgWW5Vc7KdATvKKp62Ctig6mzHcfGYU_VrsgWGeebL5uT2v64h8qN0vrgDIqXBn3Jvd498ZYT__Qmt6knrbdip0K2IvnDCkDvpXXoFy8/s1600/m_2bees_box_label_VERT+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNod2nwhJfCwMYLmQhv5XyJ9NiOd9vZzn3y69fgWW5Vc7KdATvKKp62Ctig6mzHcfGYU_VrsgWGeebL5uT2v64h8qN0vrgDIqXBn3Jvd498ZYT__Qmt6knrbdip0K2IvnDCkDvpXXoFy8/s320/m_2bees_box_label_VERT+copy.jpg" tt="true" width="228" /></a>After careful racking and blending of the various containers of Jonagold cider, I was very pleasantly surprised by the results and so we decided that it was worth the gamble in offering this cider as a Single Variety. Now we are not claiming that this is a "vintage" cider - but it is light, refreshing and crisp. Dessert apples are often higher in acidity than the traditional cider-apples like bittersweets such as Dabinett or Yarlington Mill, but the Jonagolds seem just fine: slightly sharp, but no more than many a West Country cider I have tasted. It is also much hazier than I am used to, with a fine pale burnt-orange colour; whether the haze and colour will last as it matures, I'm not sure. However, after years of making clear ciders without trying, we are quite amused to have produced a hazy one. Hopefully this will also please the die-hards who claim that it can't be a "proper" cider unless it is cloudy... Hmmm - I'll pass on that one! At present it is slightly sweet, sort of off-dry rather than dry, and has an ABV of about <strong><span style="color: cyan;">8.4%</span></strong> - this is a reflection of the naturally high sugar-levels of Jonagold apples, as we <strong>do not add</strong> any sugars to our ciders, they are fermented from pure fresh-pressed apple juice. At the moment it looks as if "<strong><span style="color: yellow;">2 Bees</span></strong>" first public appearance will be at the <a href="http://www.newarkcamra.org.uk/festival/">15th Newark CAMRA Beer Festival</a> 28th-30th May, 2010 - a <strong><em>Nottinghamshire</em></strong> debut for a <strong><em>Nottinghamshire</em></strong> cider: very apt.</div><br />
By the way, the name for this cider came <em><strong>before</strong></em> the cider... I wanted to name one of our ciders in celebration of the fact that Gail and I got married in 2009, and as we both now have the same surname beginning with "<strong>B</strong>" so calling it "<strong>Two B's</strong>" - or "<strong><span style="color: yellow;">2 Bees</span></strong>" - seemed natural. I've always had a fondness for <strong>Bumble Bees</strong> so the image for the label popped into my head almost instantaneously - with a little artistic licence of course.Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-742961251219947672010-04-22T09:28:00.000-07:002010-04-22T09:28:17.498-07:00In praise of Sol (Part II: The Sequel)<em><span style="color: lime;"><strong>Humph - everyone's a critic...</strong></span></em><br />
<br />
After spending the last 12 days or so exploring the cider-makers, real-ale brewers and watering holes of Norfolk, it is pleasing to be able to report that there are other <span style="color: cyan;"><strong>cider-makers</strong></span> with <strong>vision </strong>out there who are also fans of <strong><span style="color: yellow;">solar panels</span></strong>...<br />
<br />
Jim and Pete at <a href="http://www.whinhillcider.co.uk/">Whin Hill Cider</a>, Wells-next-the-Sea, are waiting for final planning approval for their array of Photovoltaic solar panels to be fitted onto the roof of one of their cider shed roofs: much better looking than sheets of corrugated iron... This will not only supply all their electrical power needs, but will also make them a tidy profit by selling the surplus electricity to the National Grid. Plus the fact that grants are available for installing Photovoltaic panels makes this a no-brainer for Jim and Pete.<br />
<br />
I hope that a certain Middleton-based cider-maker will (*cough*) remember the six bottles of Whin Hill's best SV cider (3 Brown's and 3 Major) that we have brought all the way back for him - at great personal sacrifice, may I add - when he next compiles his Top Ten Cider Blogs... Otherwise they may meet an "accident" before being delivered...<br />
<br />
More on our travels later.Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-72635754137169069922010-04-02T01:58:00.000-07:002010-04-02T02:05:39.039-07:00In praise of Khepri, Ra and Atum...A few words about <span style="color: yellow;"><strong>Solar Power</strong></span> - or in this instance, <span style="color: cyan;"><strong>Solar Water Heating</strong></span>.<br />
<br />
We've had a Photovoltaic solar panel for some years now to provide electrical power for the 12v systems on the caravan - its a large 50 watt panel, so produces loads of useful power and drives the numerous 12v systems in our van even on a cloudy day. The concept of "free" energy is a non-starter of course as manufacturing these systems and buying them are quite costly on many levels. However, the photovoltaic panel does give us the freedom to stay at many small caravan sites for long periods of time without having to worry about the battery going 'dead' and leaving us without light and water pumps. We are not keen on sites that have mains electric hook-ups because they tend to attract those with massive vans who spend 90% of their time sat in their vans in front of the telly... Why bother going away?<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHivJFWVNwXDAp9XxH1s0ftPML8A_olQ06yI4hwboOk2DAP2Su4nbbT1i_UPRKeT0rtWaU6yp4MRQHkr1bO8fUHe07gWYdMcPlRTwVtC-yu74L3kHi9yorChnRYIAHwU_xa176INVzVCw/s1600/m_DSCF1478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHivJFWVNwXDAp9XxH1s0ftPML8A_olQ06yI4hwboOk2DAP2Su4nbbT1i_UPRKeT0rtWaU6yp4MRQHkr1bO8fUHe07gWYdMcPlRTwVtC-yu74L3kHi9yorChnRYIAHwU_xa176INVzVCw/s200/m_DSCF1478.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So with some real-world experience and a lot of background research, I was quite struck on the idea of using some form of solar power to heat or pre-heat the water for our home. I'd been to the <span style="color: lime;"><strong>Centre for Alternative Technology</strong></span> at Machynlleth in Powys, Wales in the early '90's and had been impressed with much of the stuff I saw - and I vividly remember seeing the amount of hot water they were getting by painting old steel flat-panel radiators matt-black, placing them in a sunny position, and pumping water through them... Hmmm.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The recent BBC TV series "<span style="color: lime;"><strong>It's Not Easy Being Green</strong></span>", with moustachioed Dick Strawbridge as the driving force, rekindled my interest, particularly with the advancements in solar technologies. I was captivated by the episode where they installed the solar water heaters at Newhouse Farm. I was also well impressed by the water-wheel providing electricity, but that's another story...</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">During our stint working the Cider & Perry Bar at the <span style="color: yellow;">Moorgreen Show</span> at Watnall in August '09, I had chance for a break and a wander round the site. During this amble, I came across a stall run by a local company who specialised in sustainable, renewable and solar heating applications, so I picked up a leaflet. Time to do some more research. Fortunately, the rear of our house faces SSW, so gets sunshine from about 9.00am until the sun sets, and the pitch of the roof is quite steep - ideal for a solar collector in these latitudes. The second photo here was taken at about 9.30am in late March. By December 2009, I felt informed enough to go for it, so started getting an idea of costs and quotes. </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgH0rouwDrr2UT8FuvKgQdsupaN6x-1WugbH5bn37zYyrEYd4k5K5sC2XOSlFhkVJxNsnzKztzz0sAsESzPaM2dJfVQelRVqVGXN7oinoOXArH1J4pbaD9uCzn79JSnhDhMwx3Brvcljc/s1600/m_DSCF1477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgH0rouwDrr2UT8FuvKgQdsupaN6x-1WugbH5bn37zYyrEYd4k5K5sC2XOSlFhkVJxNsnzKztzz0sAsESzPaM2dJfVQelRVqVGXN7oinoOXArH1J4pbaD9uCzn79JSnhDhMwx3Brvcljc/s200/m_DSCF1477.JPG" width="200" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We decided on a local company called <span style="color: yellow;"><strong>Solar-Heat UK</strong></span>, mainly due to Chris, the boss and technical wizard, being straightforward and open about the job and quote. No sucking in of air through teeth or loads of glossy brochures, nor did he turn up in a flash car and wearing a suit... With clipboard in hand, it only took him 10 minutes to survey the house, airing cupboard and loft. He said the job would be quite simple and it was, all done and dusted in two days. Apart from the solar collector array of evacuated tubes on the roof, the only other obvious signs of the conversion are a larger hot water storage tank and a few extra bits of pipe in the airing cupboard. There is a little bit more in the attic space with additional pumps, a pressure vessel and a small radiator to shed excess heat during hot sunny days. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">As mentioned previously, the interesting bit for me is the animated information screen on the control panel; this shows the activity of the two pumps and the temperature displayed from the three sensors in the system: one at the solar collector, one at the top of the hot water storage tank, and one at the bottom of the tank. Over the past fortnight at the end of March 2010, with showers of rain and sleet, cold winds, the odd sunny spell and an ambient outside day-time temperature of 10C to 14C maximum, the hot water boiler hasn't even fired up for four days, the solar collector easily raising the water temperature at the bottom of the tank to <strong>51C</strong>... And this is with the cold feed coming into the bottom of the tank at about 10C - 12C! Even on the grim and cloudy days of this early spring, the solar collector has managed to pre-heat the water at the bottom of the tank to between <strong>25C - 30C</strong>, so reducing the amount of energy needed by the boiler to heat the water. So looking good so far. I'll be very interested to monitor the meter readings and energy bills though over the long term. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So would I recommend solar water heating? <strong>Definitely</strong>, but with some provisos. Financially: If you have an electric shower and don't use the bath much, it will take many years to pay for itself. We have a gravity-fed shower from the hot water tank, so are already reaping the benefits. Some sources quote savings on heating water of only £50 per year; I think this is pessimistic - and is also based on recent fuel prices. If we do only save £50 per year, it could take us over 60 years to recoup our costs - strewth! However, as we currently pay over £700 a year for our energy (so little you cry?), I am convinced that the savings for us will be much more than this. Does anyone believe fuel prices (Gas / Electric) will fall though? From a long-term viewpoint, I think we have made the right choice from both an environmental and financial stance. Better still for those thinking about it, grants for renewable and sustainable energy resources - including solar hot water systems - come on-line in 2011. We decided not to wait... </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Oh and for those who didn't know, <strong><span style="color: orange;">Khepri</span></strong> was the ancient Egyptian God of the rising or morning sun and <strong><span style="color: red;">Atum</span></strong> was the ancient Egyptian God of the evening or setting sun. <strong><span style="color: yellow;">Ra</span></strong> was of course the God of the noon-day sun. </div></div>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-42413719345476990952010-03-31T11:50:00.000-07:002010-03-31T12:00:01.389-07:00Flying out the door...<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Q7BvRxGOtHvG8txe7X_WsccjHGm847Xn80bb-j3NslB9ybSnLGFECmUdV0lo58CHB0MsWKt_J2VHytjH_DAfX6ooB_FS2GUJ5UH-t3z_0UaksUbrAjb9apARhdmw7cd9AA_vTzjaadg/s1600/m_SheepWash_Label.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Q7BvRxGOtHvG8txe7X_WsccjHGm847Xn80bb-j3NslB9ybSnLGFECmUdV0lo58CHB0MsWKt_J2VHytjH_DAfX6ooB_FS2GUJ5UH-t3z_0UaksUbrAjb9apARhdmw7cd9AA_vTzjaadg/s200/m_SheepWash_Label.jpg" width="142" /></a></div><strong><span style="color: white;"><em>It is turning out to be a busy Easter for us.</em></span></strong> <br />
<br />
<span style="color: white;">Last Thursday evening we delivered a 20 litre box of our</span> <span style="color: cyan;">Sheep Wash</span> <span style="color: white;">cider to the</span> <strong><span style="color: lime;">The Hand & Heart</span></strong> <span style="color: white;">on Derby Road in Nottingham NG1 5BA, on more of a trial basis than anything, to see how it would go down. Yesterday afternoon (Tuesday), the pub manager Austen phoned me to ask if he could have another two boxes as it had sold out already... Selling 20 litres of draught local cider in about four days is quite a result and we are well chuffed. All being well, <strong>Torkard Ciders</strong> will become a regular feature of the fare available at <strong>The Hand & Heart</strong>. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: white;">We delivered another box of</span> <span style="color: cyan;">Sheep Wash </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: white;">to the</span> <span style="color: lime;"><strong>Talbot Taphouse</strong></span> </span><span style="color: white;">on Butterly Hill in Ripley DE5 3LT this afternoon for their Easter 1st Taphouse Beer & Cider "Best in Cask" Festival, starting this Friday at 12 noon. Afterwards, Yarly (the mutt) and I went on a long circular walk around Felley Mill, over the fields and through the woods. While strolling along in the biting wind and sleet, I amused myself by trying to work out how we could all get to the Talbot Taphouse for their festival (they are a dog-friendly pub), as they also have on some of our favourite ales too: Thornbridge "Jaipur" and Whim "Hartington IPA" to name but two. The festival is also to celebrate "National Cask Ale Week" which is a good excuse (as if you need one...) for a pint of real ale.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: white;">Tomorrow I will be boxing-up two ciders for</span> <span style="color: lime;"><strong>The Victoria Hotel</strong></span><span style="color: white;">,<strong> Dovecote Lane, Beeston</strong> NG9 1JG. The Victoria are also having a festival over Easter and have decided to try out our cider to see how it goes down with the festival goers and locals: fingers crossed... Landlord Graham has asked for two versions of</span> <strong><span style="color: cyan;">Sheep Wash</span></strong> <span style="color: white;">so I think it will be something dry-ish and something medium-ish - or maybe medium-sweet-ish.</span>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-70246664117204168752010-03-27T04:13:00.000-07:002010-03-27T08:14:30.310-07:00Torkard Cider on the media trail...The last couple of weeks have been very busy for us from a local media point of view.<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: red;">Budget day</span></strong> was the day when we were contacted twice by <span style="color: lime;">BBC Radio Nottingham</span> for comments about the 10% plus inflation hike in cider duty. Typically, with it being a nice day and Gail having the day off, we had gone to Burnt Stump Country Park for a wander round, and to exercise and train the dog. So when my phone rang and the nice lady from BBC Radio Nottingham asked if they could interview me, and get some sound bites about the cider duty proposals in the Budget, I had no idea what she was on about as the Budget had not even been unveiled before we left home. Caught out there! However, by the time they phoned again for a live on-air interview around 6.00pm, I was genned-up and ready. <br />
<br />
One question though: <span style="color: yellow;"><strong>why, Why, WHY</strong></span> do radio interviewers insist on playing the Wurzel's song "I am a cider-drinker" and talking in a faux West-Country-yokel accent when interviewing people about cider? Grrrr! I find it really irritating and condescending - but of course, you laugh and smile politely and carry on through gritted teeth. Please try to find something else to play next time - and I am a <strong>Nottinghamshire cider-maker </strong>which is way away from the West Country - unless my geography is not what it is cracked up to be!<br />
<br />
I'd much prefer a local dialect, like the "Erewash Valley" dialect from the Derby's / Nott's border where I grew up, which is much richer to my ears and brings back memories of my childhood / youth and listening to my dad's workmates from Sandiacre, Long Eaton and I'lson (Ilkeston to the uninitiated). So something like: <strong><span style="background-color: black; color: cyan;">"Aye up me duck, wot yer reckon t'budget then?"</span></strong> would be far more appealing to my ears!<br />
<br />
We were also visited by Spyke Golding, chair of <span style="color: lime;"><strong>Nottingham CAMRA</strong></span> and editor of their excellent Branch magazine, who wanted to interview us for an article on local cider makers. They have a regular section on "Meet the Brewer", so we became the first subjects of a <strong>"Meet the Cider-Maker"</strong> article. The April/May 2010 issue containing the article can be found in many pubs around the locality, or you can read the article online at: <a href="http://www.nottinghamcamra.org/ND/April%202010.pdf">Nottingham Drinker</a>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-21565094637252138912010-03-26T11:54:00.000-07:002010-04-22T09:33:29.482-07:00Aaaargh! Where has the time gone...?Here we are at the end of March, spring is almost upon us - chronologically at least - and I haven't added anything to this blog since last December. Shame on me.<br />
<br />
So much has happened it is difficult to know where to begin...?<br />
How about snow; frost; snow; more snow; deeper snow; ice; burst pipe in cider shed; colder frost; frozen and cracked airlocks; snow..... I think you get the picture. The weather has really made life difficult in trying to get the trees planted up on the orchard, as we still have a lot of land to clear and trees to heavily prune and pollard. Still, the heeled-in trees look happily snug and smug in their little bed for the time being.<br />
<br />
Santa came and brought me lots of goodies in the shape of three varieties of crab apple trees (from my mum) to aid pollination and to give us a range of edible crabs which we can mess about with. More about them later. My brother and sis-in-law brought me a Felco No. 8 pruner which is excellent, along with a Silky Fox 300mm Gomtaro Apple pruning saw - which is a bit frightening at the moment. However, both have already seen use in trying to bring some shape and structure back to our Stoke Red.<br />
<br />
We have also invested in a mutt... Namely a "Lollie" which we have called "Yarly". I kid you not. A Lollie is a cross between a Labrador and a Border Collie (a sort of glorified mongrel if you like), and we have named her Yarly after our favourite cider apple, the Yarlington Mill. Yarly has really interesting colouring: her mother is a sleek black Labrador and her father is a chocolate-brown and white Border Collie, so Yarly has turned out silver-grey with black patterning which is the result of Blue Merle patterning from her father's Border Collie genes. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I2-psqGWsA">Yarly - The Movie. Cert: PG</a><br />
<br />
On the home front, we have had a Solar Water Heating Panel installed on our roof which is already proving its worth - much to my surprise and amazement, I have to add. The bare bones of the installation involved a panel full of the evacuated-tube solar collectors, a much larger (and better insulated) hot water storage tank, a couple of pumps and motorsied valves - and a fascinating animated display panel (boys toys). It is amazing to see (and feel!) hot water being pumped from the collectors into the storage tank at over 45C when the outside ambient temp is only 14C... Our hot water boiler never even fired up yesterday - I can't wait until there is some proper spring and summer sunshine... <br />
<br />
Our cider has started to go out - earlier than I'd really like, but the customer is (nearly) always right. Our first outing this year was at Chesterfield Beer Festival in February, where we trialled our new blend called "Sheep Wash". It was / is very young, but rather tasty. The cider and perry list was really impressive - as was the beer list - but we stuck to the great ciders and perries available and worked our way through the lot (apart from the couple of sickly-sweet ones and the Broadoak rubbish... ugh!). We were very surprised to find out from Trev, one of the organisers, that our 'Sheep Wash' cider was voted "Cider of the Festival" by the punters - great news! Another framed certificate to add to our "multi-award winning" portfolio of five winners.<br />
<br />
We delivered a box of 'Sheep Wash' to the Hand & Heart pub on Derby Rd in Nottingham last night - our first pub outlet in the city. A lovely pub, great atmosphere, good food, good local real ales and two local ciders: ours and one from "Three Cats" across the border in Derbyshire. It is very pleasing to find publicans willing to wholeheartedly embrace local ales <strong><span style="color: yellow;">and</span></strong> local ciders! Well done.<br />
<br />
Next week we are off to Ripley in Derby's to deliver our cider to the Talbot Taphouse, the brewery tap of Amber Ales. They are having a festival over the Easter weekend and have asked for our cider; hopefully it will go down well and they will want more over the coming warmer months.Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-8906612852327633962009-12-18T07:29:00.000-08:002009-12-18T07:29:32.935-08:00Darn it to heck...<span style="color: lime; font-size: large;"><em>Or more precisely, damn you Ashridge Trees!</em></span><br />
<br />
I recieved a phone call yesterday telling me that the six "Sweet Alfords" we'd ordered from Ashridge Trees wouldn't be arriving on Monday after all. No, nothing to do with Santa or the current "heavy snow" (yeah, right. When I was a lad... etc. etc.). Not even Rudolf having a blow-out. No. Apparently "...the packer has made a mistake..."<br />
<br />
So even though they'd been on order since June/July with my credit card details, they have disappeared into the ether due to some technical error of the human-counting / not-enough-fingers kind. Maybe they've found a new home somewhere in sunnier climes. Maybe they got a better offer. Maybe my order for six little trees wasn't important enough. Who knows. So now I'm wondering: do I hunt elsewhere for six little Malus Domestica Sweet Alford or just call it quits until next planting season...? <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoPNdPMI4aPp9r9Fp9zMDcpskP_HkING8QFfB4RWbkPDLRQlkIdstR1o6H_8uVFDqdQ9vqVJIi5YrKPm2SWwzqSE_i9yAG7kP8GbKZmUenBf0PCkP3_qkMC3lkT7_Pt_y_oCoNr9YBGc8/s1600-h/m_Group_FT_bottles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoPNdPMI4aPp9r9Fp9zMDcpskP_HkING8QFfB4RWbkPDLRQlkIdstR1o6H_8uVFDqdQ9vqVJIi5YrKPm2SWwzqSE_i9yAG7kP8GbKZmUenBf0PCkP3_qkMC3lkT7_Pt_y_oCoNr9YBGc8/s320/m_Group_FT_bottles.JPG" /></a>I have drowned my sorrows over the Sweet love affair that was never to be by doing a bit of bottling. Not for sale this time, just to give out to some of the neighbours as gifts in this time of giving. I'm still loath to part with it though... I need to get one to my doctor as well, as he has always shown great interest in my endeavours and encouraged me in these appley and cidery antics. Not to drink the stuff you understand, just to make it...<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Meanwhile back at t'orchard the shed floor has had all the coats of heavy-duty floor paint it is going to get and the heeled-in trees are cold in the biting wind but their roots are snug in the earth. I'd like some nice dry-ish weather now, with a bit of sun so that I can get stuck-in. <br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-64372129906056261702009-12-11T12:32:00.000-08:002009-12-11T12:46:52.800-08:00We are on-line...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVC6YGF7ceg_Ci2TB25-nrDjsb9D_jtRuKTxCBBwLZ6o1UvNLMnFu4-NlbMzCjss4TIvIjFNpyE__tnuuQl_6WvCLslbXRnCTPU7qDud-fdg6He6cflwOptRlgO5dR6WkzvCumSUvfQH0/s1600-h/m_Heeling+in+Dec_09.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414080489660595266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVC6YGF7ceg_Ci2TB25-nrDjsb9D_jtRuKTxCBBwLZ6o1UvNLMnFu4-NlbMzCjss4TIvIjFNpyE__tnuuQl_6WvCLslbXRnCTPU7qDud-fdg6He6cflwOptRlgO5dR6WkzvCumSUvfQH0/s400/m_Heeling+in+Dec_09.JPG" /></a><br /><div>No not the trees! Doesn't look like there are <strong>53 trees</strong> in those two trenches does it? Popped up to the plot yesterday to paint the concrete floor of the shed and put a lick of preservative on the woodwork. Why? Because for the first time in what seems like ages, it wasn't raining or even cloudy - the sun shone, the sky was blue and it was lovely and pleasant to be out.</div><div> </div><div></div><div>Not like today: frosty, cold, foggy first them misty and damp all day. So I've spent most of today trying to put a website together for Torkard Cider. And I did, and I have and we are all-systems go: </div><div></div><div> </div><div><a href="http://torkardcider.moonfruit.com/">Torkard Cider is on-line!</a></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><div>We have lift-off, green for throttle up, etc. etc. etc. </div></div>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-15301815576010120522009-12-09T22:59:00.000-08:002009-12-10T03:43:31.931-08:00Cooking with Cider<span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;"><em>Delia: Look away now... </em></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;"><em>Gordon: Don't even f****** go there!</em></span><br /><br />Following our annual pilgrimage to <strong>Somerset</strong> to visit some of the many pukka cider-makers down there, we always return with a goodly selection of ciders in an assortment of containers. And unfortunately we often end up with a drop or two which are past their best; so these are used in cooking.<br /><br />My cooking is based on the: <strong>if-it's-there-bung-it-in</strong> approach and frequent tasting.<br /><br />This week I have mostly been using the <strong>slow-cooker</strong>: every lazy cook's dream...<br /><br /><br />Note that our slow-cooker is a 3-litre job, so provides at least four generous servings.<br /><br /><span style="color:#33ffff;"><strong>Cider braised vegetables</strong><br /></span>Gail came home with some venison sausages, so as these cook quickly, we used the slow-cooker to cook the veg ready for the evening meal. Our slow-cooker has the facility to be used on high or low heat, so I turned it to High, put a pat of garlic and herb butter in the crock and added about 1 pint / 500 ml of dry real cider. I suppose any dry or even medium cider would do at a push... I then added a bay leaf and plenty of black pepper, followed by a crumbled chicken stock cube. While the cider was heating through and the garlic butter melting, I sliced up some leeks, mushrooms, and potatoes (leaving the skins on), and diced some sweet-potato, carrots and swede. Any root veg will do really, though I tend to shy away from parsnips as their flavour can be a bit over-powering at times; for my tastes anyway. After stirring the cider and making sure the stock-cube had dissolved (a chopstick is great for this) the veg were tipped in, the lid added, the heat set to Low and left to it's own devices for around 8 hours - apart from the odd gentle swirl with the chopstick, that is. When the goode wyffe had returned from the office, the sausages were popped under the grill and as they cooked, a little blended cornflour and cider was stirred into the veg and cooking liquid to thicken it a little. The veg were lifted onto the plate with a slotted spoon, followed by the cooked sausages and some of the veg cooking liquor spooned over the top.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#33ffff;">Spicy Cidery Beef</span></strong><br />I can take or leave meat cooked in red wine. So when we picked up some diced beef during a recent shopping trip, I decided to experiment... In a large freezer bag, I placed four tablespoons of plain flour followed by two tablespoons each of mustard powder and ground dried ginger. This was topped off with a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. The bag was closed up and given a good shake to mix up the dry ingredients, then opened and the 450 g of diced beef tipped in. The whole lot was then given a very good shake to ensure the beef was well and truly coated with the spicy flour mix. In a large heavy pan I heated a knob of butter and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, lifted the floured beef out of the bag onto a plate and then tipped the beef into the hot pan, tossing and turning until lightly browned. I added a couple of sliced onions, then tossed and turned the lot frequently until the onions were just starting to caramelise. I sprinkled over a little more of the left-over spicy flour mix from the bag, stirred and cooked this for a minute or so, then turned the lot out into the pre-warmed crock of the slow-cooker, which was set to Low. I put the pan back on the heat and in a little more olive oil, sweated a couple of fat peeled and crushed garlic cloves from the garden. I then added about a pint and half of dry cider and used this to de-glaze the pan, scraping any of the beef and onion cooking residue and flour mixture from the base and sides of the pan. After bringing the cider to the boil, the pan contents were added to the beef and onion in the slow-cooker, and thoroughly stirred in. This was followed by sliced leeks, carrots, parsnips and mushrooms, covered and left for 8 hours or so. After a thorough stir and checking the seasoning, we served the spicy cidery beef with mashed potatoes. It goes equally well with rice, or spooned over a jacket potato - we had this two nights on the trot. Comfort food. Yum.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#33ffff;">Creamy Cidery Green Beans with Leeks</span></strong><br />I love runner beans. I could eat them three-times-a-day between meals... However, the goode wyffe prefers more variety, so another experiment ensued. After preparing and slicing the runner beans as usual, they were tipped into a hot oily wok and tossed to coat them in oil. After a couple of minutes stir frying, a good splash of dry cider was added to the hot wok followed by some finely sliced leeks and more cider. As the cider evaporates, more is added to prevent any of the veg browning, the veg cooking through the steam of the cider rather than actually frying in oil. After a couple of minutes a few finely sliced mushrooms were added and, after a little more cider and stirring, the heat was reduced. When the veg were cooked through but still had a little bite, a small pot of soured cream was stirred in along with freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste. If required more cider can be added. These piquant creamy cidery green beans with leeks were served up with some oven-roasted belly pork slices which had been sprinkled with 5-Spice powder. Mmmmmm.Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-77051368759025009492009-12-09T00:50:00.000-08:002009-12-09T03:55:47.225-08:00Heel, boy, heel!<em><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;">Get 'em in...</span></em><br /><br /><div align="justify">The weekend was spent digging a couple of long trenches on our plot so that we could heel-in the apple trees, along with the two <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Denniston's</span> Superb gage and two <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Merryweather</span> damson trees. We hoped to get it done in one day, but the twitch and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">briar</span> roots made it very heavy going, so we had to split the task into two sessions. </div><br /><div align="justify"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAEqJ8FBchg6J5J351gHn2wQSfTl3Jtc6dyX4AriH97DRkyhq-6I_0QMIuhbMbKuEZirBYzsPCQBqNiJqRjATCVt8Nxrt-sBQa5d9QB_6sGe7jMIf06IsNANfj_7YlLs5-ValOulBSgM/s1600-h/m_peterson+briar.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 100px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413158343783145810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAEqJ8FBchg6J5J351gHn2wQSfTl3Jtc6dyX4AriH97DRkyhq-6I_0QMIuhbMbKuEZirBYzsPCQBqNiJqRjATCVt8Nxrt-sBQa5d9QB_6sGe7jMIf06IsNANfj_7YlLs5-ValOulBSgM/s200/m_peterson+briar.jpg" /></a><br /><div align="justify">I wish now that I had saved some of the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">briar</span> stumps for seasoning and carving - I well remember my brother in his smoking days having a Peterson pipe with a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">briar</span> bowl. I bought it him for Christmas when he was about 19 or so and he liked the "Sherlock Holmes" style and image of pipe. Mind you, with the amount of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">briars</span> still to be dug out, I think I'll have plenty to choose from... I can also remember the fascination of being introduced to such terms as "Whisky Flake", "Ready Rubbed" and "Rough Shag"... <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ooo</span>-err! Not <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Finnbarr</span> Saunders, but of course terms used for types of tinned pipe tobacco. I still have some of Mike's old tobacco tins, full of rusting fishing tackle.</div><br /><br /><div align="justify">So I wielded the spade and dug the earth out onto a plastic sheet, while Gail forked through the solid blocks of black, root-locked soil and teased out the masses of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">briar</span>, nettle and dock roots. We then placed the young trees into the trench at an angle of about 45 degrees to the leeward and sifted the soil over the bare roots of the saplings. We didn't have to water the plants in - the teeming rain did that for us. Oh, the joys...</div><br /><br /><div align="justify">Next-door plot tenant and good-old-boy Charlie came round to see what we were up to and had kindly bought us half-a-dozen fresh eggs from his chickens as a thank-you for the many bags of spent apple <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">pomace</span> or apple-cake we had dropped off for him. His chickens like to root around in it and he is composting some of the rest. Charlie had also spotted something in the hedgerow of our plot and asked if he could help himself...? He came back a few minutes later with a handful of <em><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Lepista</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">Nuda</span></em> - Wood <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">Blewits</span> or <em><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">Blewies</span></em> to you and I. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8Xyj4XBKeuh2OohbL8tWvAM6CNEL9vSShUTvZO5gjIGRZdmVJMwEyPDVuSws9shmy3j_-YPTMws_0CqVQm4HMRehCzSYP2uQwIQ35ufV9a-E65sjabDrzINqmhFrgwXHMTbZ8rfTSzA/s1600-h/wood_blewit.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413164717860051890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8Xyj4XBKeuh2OohbL8tWvAM6CNEL9vSShUTvZO5gjIGRZdmVJMwEyPDVuSws9shmy3j_-YPTMws_0CqVQm4HMRehCzSYP2uQwIQ35ufV9a-E65sjabDrzINqmhFrgwXHMTbZ8rfTSzA/s200/wood_blewit.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify">In fact, our plot is covered with fungi of all sorts and I'd not spotted the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">Blewies</span>. I have often toyed with the idea of joining a mushroom foraging group - I've got a few books about identifying, collecting and cooking with <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">muzzers</span>, but I think you need to be out with an expert or three to know what you are doing. Wouldn't do to inadvertently pick an <em><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">Amanita</span></em> such as Death's Cap or Destroying Angel. No no.</div><br /><br /><div align="justify">So the next task is to attack the remaining areas of the plot now that the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error">briars</span>, nettles, willows, birch and other assorted undergrowth are dying back. The forecast is for a few good frosts, so hopefully this will expedite matters. We spent some time on Sunday deciding which existing trees will need <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error">pollarding</span> to open up the canopy and to allow us to set about improving the remaining two hedges and boundaries. We also need to sort out the two large, old apple trees; one definitely needs a hair-cut, whereas the other needs the removal of a large bough which has grown out over the plot. A "<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-error">Hucknall</span> Chainsaw Massacre" is imminent.</div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;"><em>Pressing...</em></span><br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;"></span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;"></span></em><br /><br /><div align="justify">We are still milling and pressing, and with the arrival of our new <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-error">Vigo</span> press, we are now much more efficient at turning fruit into juice. I am hoping to go and pick up some <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-error">Vilberie</span> bittersweet cider apples from good friends Mark and Karen at <a href="http://rockinghamforestcider.moonfruit.com/"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rockingham</span> Forest Cider</a> which we are going to ferment separately and blend to add some tannin to some of our cider. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" class="blsp-spelling-error">Vilberies</span> are a French variety that mature very late and are rich in tannin to help give body, and the dry-mouth finish so often found in real ciders.</div><br /><br /><div align="justify">We have been very surprised by our results so far this season, some of our juice has the potential of producing an <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_24" class="blsp-spelling-error">ABV</span> of over 9% - and remember this is without the addition of any sugar or anything else, just the product of the natural pure apple juice. Better keep that a secret from the Tory knee-jerk <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_25" class="blsp-spelling-error">reactionists</span> who are planning to raise the tax on anything over 5.5% <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_26" class="blsp-spelling-error">ABV</span> to stop "binge-drinking" and alcohol abuse by teenagers, and the under-age. What about the rest of us who don't binge-drink and are not under 18?</div>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-75201478477245415842009-12-05T05:22:00.000-08:002009-12-05T09:33:24.000-08:00Queen's Head, Watnall, Nottingham (-ish)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoeAGObABUftNhbRXA5622_C_Eab38e_aTuMDMAoXdHKQJQmX4GEnRLTH_kf7wHb5-hCF8P9qkc_xwEUlD-212d_70sf3GblD42wtL1y2cRkOYwM8uHON80C8Czb4twnkXfs8Fs3HpnM/s1600-h/m_Heritage+copy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 285px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411743240576747554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoeAGObABUftNhbRXA5622_C_Eab38e_aTuMDMAoXdHKQJQmX4GEnRLTH_kf7wHb5-hCF8P9qkc_xwEUlD-212d_70sf3GblD42wtL1y2cRkOYwM8uHON80C8Czb4twnkXfs8Fs3HpnM/s400/m_Heritage+copy.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUkHeVuAC2GfNP-Xn-8l8SCKPRCNsKFlwNjtfIro0McY_1baAWddD2KzgV0E6jwEm1yAlzUs6ne_6xYmj6jXKXRJl6ByKHk4kTQH33u2BDwcMMnFH6f8kuYxtTTRR5qNr__KzL1aL67kA/s1600-h/m_FloppyTabs_1+copy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 285px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411743232985003074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUkHeVuAC2GfNP-Xn-8l8SCKPRCNsKFlwNjtfIro0McY_1baAWddD2KzgV0E6jwEm1yAlzUs6ne_6xYmj6jXKXRJl6ByKHk4kTQH33u2BDwcMMnFH6f8kuYxtTTRR5qNr__KzL1aL67kA/s400/m_FloppyTabs_1+copy.jpg" /></a><br />Just thought I'd better mention the "<span style="color:#ffff33;">Beer in the Tent</span>" festival being held at <span style="color:#33ff33;"><strong>The Queen's Head, Watnall</strong></span>, from the 10th to the 13th December, 2009.<br /><br />This will see almost the last of our 2008 ciders: "Floppy Tabs" and "Heritage Orchard" available to the general public. We have supplied F.T. as a medium-dry and back-sweetened H.O. to a medium-ish taste. I really like the Heritage Orchard now, it has matured into a crystal-clear tangy and tasty cider with many subtle flavour levels. OK, I'll stop "doing a Jilly" and I know it's not-on to compliment your own stuff, but... well I am reluctant to let it go!<br /><br />Click <a href="http://thequeensheadwatnall.co.uk/">here</a> for a link to the Queen's Head website and full details of the festival. You can find the Queen's Head at: 40, Main Road, Watnall, Nottingham NG16 1HT, at the side of the B600.Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-76627484436962293122009-12-05T04:16:00.000-08:002009-12-05T10:32:45.707-08:00Tree planting time...<em><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;">Here we go, here we go, here we go....</span></em><br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;"></span></em><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411727789048130962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCM3bmbeNckLGyAMGKfnZYKnRGih8OHiApYOcXrgV7EzyX8y5bs6Mhyphenhyphen47yBceY6T2lGduk7tn6UKINtB5Wh02Gfv5wjhRk8RSz1ctV7NYRS0TdHlUiGXP4dO_pyPZVbR13j8v97E8Xqtc/s320/m_DSCF1426.JPG" /><br /><br /><p>Santa has come early this year (though the Tooth-fairy was late for my Birthday), but not in time for us to take part in the "Tree O Clock" planting today. Probably more due to my forgetting when it was... <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/treeoclock/">treeoclock</a></p><p>Anyway, pictured above are the parcels that Santa dropped off on his way to the North Pole to finish pressy-wrapping. In those parcels are:</p><p>6 x Foxwhelp</p><p>6 x Kingston Black</p><p>6 x Brown's Apple</p><p>6 x Major</p><p>6 x Herefordshire Redstreak</p><p>6 x Tommy Rodford</p><p>3 x Sops in Wine</p><p>3 x Hangy Down</p><p>3 x Katy</p><p>3 x Tom Putt</p><p>and 1 x Tremlett's Bitter (to replace a casualty...)</p><p>There are also two Dennsiton's Superb Gage trees and two Merryweather Damson trees = pies!!! </p><p>So although we have missed the Tree O Clock planting record, we hope to show that we are holding our end up. However it doesn't end there, as we are awaiting to hear if our order for 6 x Sweet Alfords will bear fruit, but we don't expect to hear news from that until later this month or into January 2010. We also have the 6 x Dabinetts that have been happily growing-on in pots to take to their new home.</p><p>So if my maths is correct, we have <span style="color:#ffff33;">at least 59</span> - and a maximum of <span style="color:#ffff33;">65</span> - trees to plant. Phew! First though we are going to heel them all in so that we can lift and position at our leisure, as we still have more than half of the plot to clear of brambles, willows, birch and nettles. </p><p>Talking of leisure, it will be something I am likely to have a lot of in the future as I am in the process of leaving the teaching profession after 29-odd years at The Chalk Face, man and boy. Our new shed is up, and the barbecue, table and chairs are already in - I am a great believer in priorities! - so I am likely to be spending a lot of time there from now on while Gail remains at work keeping me in the manner to which I have become accustomed. </p><p>All I need now is a puppy, so that man and dog can sit munching sausage sarnies while gazing out over the growing apple trees... </p><p></p><p><br /></p>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-50949942626675601992009-09-19T04:29:00.000-07:002009-09-19T05:31:44.551-07:00Blimey!<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383139341422370066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1ezNSW-gr5PJhCAFr0NSBA5mOBJEo1VLp52h1Am9c_0y2b0h1J17xFRnyW0rWhddeRC92mFf3XORFVMk20Ifd6EnNJNbpasYnSO3xh35o6u_FsloF3AU_uwYsXLUj9E7fv8KO6ZV1Jk/s320/m_DSCF1390.JPG" /> <span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;"><em>Where did the summer go?</em></span><br /><br /><br /><br />More likely, I didn't realise it was so long since I last posted anything on here! Holidays, working full-time, and building and planting have so occupied our time that writing anything on here has been low on my "list of things to do"...<br /><br /><br />Anyway, a quick update on the past two months:<br /><br /><span style="color:#ffff33;">France. Cidre. Spain. Sidra. Planting trees. Weedkilling. Mowing. Moorgreen Show. Cider-Shed altering. Cider-Shed adapting. Environmental Health. Local Council. Spending lots of money we don't have... Installing permanent water supply. Installing electricity supply. Stainless steel. Planting more trees. Radio Mansfield 103.2. Interviews. A & GCSE Results. OFSTED. More pressure. More stress. Harvesting. Pressing.</span><br /><br /><br />Phew! I'll go into detail later when I have time (Yeah! Right! As if!!!). Mind you, I am enrolled on a Retirement Planning course in a couple of months time, so who knows?<br /><br /><br />"<span style="color:#ffcc00;">Floppy Tabs</span>" has been our best seller and is very popular; we finally were presented with our fourth CAMRA "<span style="color:#ffcc00;">Cider of the Festival</span>" certificate for Mansfield Beer & Cider Festival where FT received almost as many votes as the winning beer! Ha! We were well chuffed. At Moorgreen Show, our ciders were the first to sell out: FT first, followed by our "<span style="color:#ffcc00;">Heritage Orchard</span>" single-orchard cider.<br /><br /><br />On a parallel note, due to some difficulties in obtaining what we wanted for the Cider & Perry bar at Moorgreen Show and some slight hiccups with the order, we ended up with mainly Dry and Medium-Dry ciders and perries. We only had 3 out of the total of 20 which came anywhere near Medium-Sweet, and nothing really Sweet at all. Did that stop folks enjoying their ciders and perries? Not at all!!! We managed to find something to suit everyone and had totally sold-out by closing time on Bank Holiday Monday. Don't let <strong><span style="color:#33ffff;">anyone</span></strong> tell you that folks young and old will only drink sweet ciders - utter codswallop! And don't forget that this was a mainly Horticultural show, with a very wide mix of folks - not a cider-tickers CAMRA festival.<br /><br /><br />We pressed our first fruit of the year (season?) last weekend, a mixed bag of our own Tom Putts and windfalls, plus a couple of carrier bags of Conference pears from Mark at work, and a bag of John Downie crabs from our friends Paul and Julia. The juice was absolutely wonderful and fragrant, and had less acidity and a higher Gravity than I expected (Ph 3.1; SG 1052). I have long been tempted to let the fermentation naturally run it's course without adding anything at all - so with just 5 gallons of juice, I thought why not?<br /><br /><br />The photo above shows the surface of the juice after just four days: a fine mousse of froth showing that <em><strong>something</strong></em> is happening... The smell is still fresh and fruity so I am hoping that the fermentation that I am seeing is due to the desireable strains of <em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em> (yeast) that live on apples and produce fruity and cidery-type flavours.<br /><br /><br />If not, I could be in trouble...<br /><br /><br />We have also started our 2009 "Damson Vodka" off, with a few litre "Kilner" jars slowly filling with lovely ruby-red juice. It's been a great year for Damsons. I have also just bottled some <span style="color:#ff6666;">Damson Vodka</span>, <span style="color:#66ffff;">Raspberry Vodka</span> and my special <span style="color:#ff99ff;">Damson & Clove Vodka</span> that has been maturing in the cool and dark for the last few years - at least 5 years we reckon (forgot to label it...). Whatever, it is super stuff and really smooth. Ready for long cold nights by the log burner...<br /><br /><br />Our autumn-fruiting raspberries are loaded this year, many going to the wasps or falling to the floor before we can pick them. More Raspberry Vodka perhaps...? Hmmm... My mum came up to see me earlier in the month and we went up to our plot to pick Blackberries - another fruit that has done really well this year. We picked about 10lbs between the two of us (and throwing the ball for the dog - the eponymous "Floppy Tabs" AKA: Shambles.)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383152233578395762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7L7HvSVySd_7RfWPwMfa_wcTq8sLuXzCKCquktlOHChXhqyITbjUlM_l2x7iGQIVTSsDKO5XSHuzMPzLJ0WzpTKtv_ihMWF360mXjsnp2e-kyGkZZXs5_nnFM3CvP2pJnEe67ZYQlPNA/s320/m_DSCF1347.JPG" /><br /><br /><p>The hedges around our plot were groaning with big juicy blackberries; I must plant some damsons, we already have Sloes (Blackthorn) but I've had to hack them back this year to bring the hedges under control. We have two old trees on the plot which we inherited: one is very ancient and at some point has been grafted over to 3 different varieties, while the other is some form of wilding. The 3-in-1 has Bramleys plus some other unknown cooker and an unknown eater, while the wilding may well prove very interesting... more on that later. </p><p>Whatever, my mum went home with bags of windfalls from the two trees to make Apple and Blackberry pies and lots of apple-sauce.</p>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-87735135833096161362009-07-15T13:20:00.000-07:002009-07-15T15:00:37.775-07:00The Cider Workshop...<a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 124px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358784797435944754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD4R3ziy4HukIl_2j3nJsCWH8_hJfm5RKujsl-sq63bBY9bewL_MFb_C5swC5JzBgDDSsgCHDYEzf3b3NCtMNsPrim6fvIurrdy-MtS2_n15EeGloJpkEzGjsV8318WqlQXzapbyojuoE/s320/Basic_bubbles+textlogo.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-size:130%;"><em>Will the real: </em></span><a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/"><span style="font-size:130%;"><em>The Cider Workshop </em></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><em>please stand up?</em></span><br /><p>As you trawl round the internet, you can come across all sorts of domain names and titles for websites, groups, etc. etc. Sometimes the websites are real and as expected, but sometimes they are devious traps set by the calculating to catch out the unwary. Occasionally they are there to trick you into parting with your hard-earned money and are therefore blatantly illegal.</p><p>However, there are some folks who go out of their way to <span style="color:#ffff33;">trick</span> you into logging-on to their site just for getting hits and to stop you accessing the site you may want to get to. I'm not talking about porn or major crime here - just <strong><span style="color:#33ff33;">cider</span></strong>. Maybe it's driven by fear or something to hide. Or from having made a mistake but not being prepared to admit it. Or maybe being totally wrong but being unable to see anyone else's point of view?</p><p>Some months ago, a few like-minded and democratic cider-makers got together after being blocked from and effectively kicked-out of the on-line cider group they belonged to. They were ex-communicated by the group and websites owner, Andrew Roberts, because they stood up for one another, dared to speak their minds, believed in open and free-speech - and believed that campaigning and fighting for real cider and real perry was best carried out on a variety of fronts. Well the latter is fine in a democracy or where you think you have a voice and a say, but not in an autocracy where one person thinks their word is the only way: a despot.</p><p>So one by one, all the free-thinking and long-standing members of this cider group - which claims to be (quote)<em> "...the main body representing real cider enthusiasts and small producers in the UK..."</em> (unquote) - left because of their own frustrations at seeing free-speech crushed and fellow cider enthusiasts ejected from the group just for mentioning other groups with similar and roughly parallel aims. It soon became clear that Andrew Roberts lives in a virtual world - not a real one - when it comes to talking about, having knowledge of, and campaigning for real cider and real perry. He doesn't make the stuff, just drinks it and pontificates about it.</p><p>So the free-thinking cider-makers and enthusiasts got together and set-up their own group. It was democratic from the start, involving a small group of people from across the globe who not only drank real cider and perry but most importantly, <strong><em><span style="color:#ffff33;">made it</span></em></strong>. This small group quickly flourished and soon encompassed a wide range of very expert and knowledgeable people, often because they had also been blocked from ukcider - for that is what the old, dying group was called - for flirting with or daring to join the new kid on the block: <a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/">The Cider Workshop</a>.</p><p>Now it is quite common for a number of on-line groups to exist side-by-side and share membership and knowledge - car clubs for instance. <a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/">The Cider Workshop </a>hoped to do just that and collaborate with ukcider - but unfortunately Andrew Roberts was having none of this and so started a "Cider Workshop" war. Someone has joined the <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/cider-workshop">Cider Workshop discussion google group </a>under the false and misleading name of "CiderWorkshop" - originally it was "Wokshop" but we won't hold that against him - and is using the false email address of: <a href="mailto:ciderworkshop@google.com">ciderworkshop@google.com</a> Now who would do that if they didn't have something to hide? This person has been asked to use a username which cannot be confused with the real admin side of the real and genuine <a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/">The Cider Workshop </a>- but they have refused. Now why is that? Who could want to cause mischief by pretending they are something that they are not? Some have suggested that it must be Mr Andrew Roberts, but that remains to be proved. But their actions are certainly devious and, most suspect, ultimately malicious. The posts which emanate from this character are also bizarre.</p><p>It gets worse... If you google "ciderworkshop" you'll will get lots and lots of hits that lead you back to... yes, you've guessed it: ukcider or, surprisingly Mr Andrew Roberts; he even uses a photo of himself alongside the name "Cider Workshop" on sites like <a href="http://knol.google.com/k/workshop/cider-workshop/8xgiwrvcxm98/2#">the knol</a> and <a href="http://www.edocr.com/doc/687/cidermakers-year-2003-cider-rosie">edocr</a>. Now why is that when he has nothing whatsoever to do with <a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/">The Cider Workshop </a>- unless it is intentional of course. </p><p>Andrew Roberts also uses "CiderWorkshop" on twitter - why, when "his" website is ukcider? Unless he is out to deliberately deceive and undermine any attempts to get a truly democratic and friendly cider discussion group and cider resource site, up and running? Some may claim that Mr Roberts is afraid of <strong><span style="color:#ffff33;">any</span></strong> competition whatsoever. I'm sure that deep inside he is so concerned with promoting real cider and real perry in the UK, that he is more than happy to let ukcider stand on it's own without trying to prop it up with false domain names and false links to lead all searches to ukcider. </p><p>Oh, I mentioned <a href="http://www.edocr.com/doc/687/cidermakers-year-2003-cider-rosie">edocr</a> earlier. I hear on the grapevine (not sure whether it is true or not) that my good friend <span style="color:#ffff33;">Rose Grant</span> is very unhappy that Andrew Roberts appears to have lifted some of her work from <a href="http://ciderbyrosie.co.uk/blog">her own blog </a>without permission in order to post it elsewhere in connection with his name and links to ukcider? (Alongside tags falsely leading to "ciderworkshop" of course. By falsely, read "to ukcider"). I do understand though that Rose's argument is over moral and intellectual rights seeing as she wrote the blog herself in her own style. Is nothing sacred? Plagiarism is a very low act indeed.</p><p>But plagiarism and cloning are exactly what you will find on ukcider's wiki it seems. Many folks tried to remove their work when leaving the group, deleting it en masse - but it has miraculously reappeared it seems. There has been the odd clumsy attempt to re-write stuff, but unfortunately the names of the recently departed are still to be seen attached to articles which they thought they'd deleted. It is very easy to spot re-written articles when they are re-written by someone who personally seems to know very little about the subject in hand.</p><p>Allegedly a number of providers and web owners have removed some of these false links set up by Andrew Roberts to ukcider which purported to be links to <span style="color:#33ff33;">The Cider Workshop</span> <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/cider-workshop">group</a> and <a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/blogs.html">website</a>. Likewise, someone hiding behind the logo of ukcider has been attempting to get permission to use photographs from the flickr website under the false user name of "Cider Workshop". Now who could that be...? Answers on a postcard to....</p><p></p>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-41192590171805895162009-06-04T10:58:00.000-07:002009-07-15T04:22:08.413-07:00The Cider Workshop goes live...<em><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;">Well, sort of...</span></em><br /><br /><br /><br />At long last a <a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/">cider site </a>which is free and caring-and-sharing has come on-line. No hang-ups, no dictator-ish blocking of posts and posters, and no paranoid personalities to split a once-friendly bunch into a schism. Just a bunch of folks who want to be free to discuss <span style="color:#ffff00;">real cider</span>, how to make it, where to drink it, how to improve it, what apples to grow, etc. etc. etc.<br /><br /><br /><br />This very friendly co-operative group of like minded individuals goes under the title of <span style="color:#33ff33;"><a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/">The Cider Workshop</a></span> <a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/">http://ciderworkshop.com/</a> and is the brainchild of an evil genius who was dismayed to see folks with passion drifting away from a common cause. He single-handed (well, almost) brought the throng together to give life to a simple shed next to an apple tree or two...<br /><br /><a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 237px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 100px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343536945458707906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5gtrFc4LztOuAeS9qFUsF9Apj3E8B00gQqzsteYz0phNKEk_OICTz6TgUWhhSlnS5nf5HKGW6Mgmk44buFhSy16SQL_EdpFCFxflEoUCNCjbZvcKj5_vsMO-1ZuVbAKVP9refh8RICdI/s320/cwlogo.png" /></a>Come along and <a href="http://ciderworkshop.com/">join us</a> if you have an interest in apples, pears, apple trees, pear trees, cider, perry, or any combination of the six...Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-31807423973469534932009-05-25T14:02:00.000-07:002009-05-25T15:08:55.579-07:00What more could a girl ask for?<em><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;">The ideal start to wedded life...</span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGx0gvr0qvaRIn-mb-Oy8nIgkdyGBxe5HtiAmIMcoW3mhPrfSGjjCX5JlDvmAE7NcyW5xDhlHV6DpfktkL8p4Cr4F58L-l-Ar8EI3LmR9_zRKw_iUkOoGsVb08A3O44sqT8GotPoYNVQ/s1600-h/m_DSCF1275.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339871046913544322" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGx0gvr0qvaRIn-mb-Oy8nIgkdyGBxe5HtiAmIMcoW3mhPrfSGjjCX5JlDvmAE7NcyW5xDhlHV6DpfktkL8p4Cr4F58L-l-Ar8EI3LmR9_zRKw_iUkOoGsVb08A3O44sqT8GotPoYNVQ/s200/m_DSCF1275.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><p>The day after we got married, we (ie: I...) decided that we really needed to get up onto our plot to tidy up a little and carry out some weed maintenance. Due to going away for our honeymoon imminently and the poor wet weather we've been having recently, the plot would be left to it's own devices for longer than I cared for. </p><br /><p>I was also very keen to try out our new petrol mower, with the biggest diameter cut I could get my hands on that wasn't a ride-on mower. To be honest, I'd been hanging my nose over ride-on mowers and little tractors for some months - but then I thought about my waistline and my doctors advice regarding exercise, and thought the extra exercise of walking behind a mower would be good for me. Never mind the <span style="color:#66ff99;">£700-odd</span> saving we would make on our new wee beastie.</p><br /><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawedVsaHCR3j6hEAWPkrXTFr0UIRTaeQWrQDlZ4ElOubAAfOqnklifIMXZ_9gVUtxydttgCBeaNpik_vUyFh7ESeCIyxrY_woT22rw7ceM4O_Vf_VwupTU0u_RlG3yzgh2Nx2D2Jc7mA/s1600-h/m_DSCF1278.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339870583450948914" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawedVsaHCR3j6hEAWPkrXTFr0UIRTaeQWrQDlZ4ElOubAAfOqnklifIMXZ_9gVUtxydttgCBeaNpik_vUyFh7ESeCIyxrY_woT22rw7ceM4O_Vf_VwupTU0u_RlG3yzgh2Nx2D2Jc7mA/s200/m_DSCF1278.JPG" border="0" /></a> It was good to see everything green, but the nettles had grown at an amazing pace. Gail was let loose with the <span style="color:#ffff33;">Ryobi Expand-It</span> with the hedge -trimmer attachment first to trim the Hawthorn hedge, while I got the <span style="color:#ffff33;">McCulloch</span> mower off the trailer and fired it up for the first time. The mower has a 3-in-1 feature which means it can be used with a large grass box, as a mulching mower or with the side-eject chute which I chose to use.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAr9r8VpwhEyYzNf34-mG5nGwuRebyLlnAib6DOxsfn_4aGPLR1jkqZgfwXfq9rGW0RcExB8Mg1uwpyVC1BRY3vD9yPaqTkU6nIttl260mL3t5IC8CmjLx82Iw8icZNQioNLFeS-YDVk/s1600-h/m_DSCF1280.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339870576616701378" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAr9r8VpwhEyYzNf34-mG5nGwuRebyLlnAib6DOxsfn_4aGPLR1jkqZgfwXfq9rGW0RcExB8Mg1uwpyVC1BRY3vD9yPaqTkU6nIttl260mL3t5IC8CmjLx82Iw8icZNQioNLFeS-YDVk/s200/m_DSCF1280.JPG" border="0" /></a> I was very conscious of losing all of the goodness contained in the green vegetable matter that I was mowing so I think the side-eject chute will be its normal mode of operation. With it on its highest setting, I was soon making short work of the grass and weeds. Gail converted the Ryobi to <span style="color:#ffff33;">Brush-Cutter</span> mode and started to attack the bigger stands of nettles while I moved onto the grass lane outside to mow our "patch" and mulch up the cuttings that Gail's hedge trimming activities had left behind. Everything started to look pretty tidy quite quickly. I met up with plot neighbours <span style="color:#ffff33;">Charlie </span>and Judy while chugging up and down the green lane, and they were far more interested in whether we had <span style="color:#33ff33;">consummated</span> the marriage yet rather than how well the day had gone...<br /></p><p align="left">A more serious task to be undertaken was another assault on the <span style="color:#33ffff;">Japanese Knotweed</span> that we had inherited with the plot. It has already cost us quite a few pounds in weedkillers, mainly <span style="color:#ffff33;">Glyphosate</span>-based types and the effect of these was slowly making itself apparent. However, we have heard on the grapevine that some people are taking an active interest in the Knotweed - surprisingly no one seemed bothered about it until we took the plot over... - so we are feeling the pressure to get rid of this alien monster before it has any chance of spreading. Not that we aren't working on the problem already, of course! As usual, I just wish folks would come and talk to us about what we are already doing and have done, rather than spreading gossip and panic about this <span style="color:#ffff33;">Triffid-like</span> invader of our shores.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQb-dwwzE_eY6L5WbCQ_d9lX5x7PPXhpBHXxu7Xh6VnmTD7v7DwkXcoGcaUWBhAPo1kvFq7ll1fbzAUgJ90d8Vc-MYcRZCIIVm7Gm4VNn3QkG0kyC8Rcs9ix6ggbk5x-8xT64T1qhXqY/s1600-h/m_DSCF1281.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339870571393971010" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQb-dwwzE_eY6L5WbCQ_d9lX5x7PPXhpBHXxu7Xh6VnmTD7v7DwkXcoGcaUWBhAPo1kvFq7ll1fbzAUgJ90d8Vc-MYcRZCIIVm7Gm4VNn3QkG0kyC8Rcs9ix6ggbk5x-8xT64T1qhXqY/s200/m_DSCF1281.JPG" border="0" /></a>It was time to start playing <span style="color:#ff0000;">Dr. Death</span> - or <span style="color:#33ffff;">Dr. Kildare</span> - take your pick... I'd bought some <span style="color:#ffff33;">Ammonium Sulphate</span> systemic weedkiller that targets the roots in a similar way to the <span style="color:#33ffff;">Glyphosate</span>-based products. We've used this stuff before and it is very effective, but you need to get it <em>inside</em> the plant to be really effective. I mixed up a very strong solution of the weedkiller, suitably protected with surgical gloves, and then loaded up the syringe.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_0Xwr96Ha-dgPo8kyTelKt6YX2dJ1ExGqx2j1ZM0ZKFLZvZ0yopHmVwXkRyI1XcLN_7DUQDO7Pk50FmUcnJ2Fh5ny4eUwaIUV5CvT-uZ2issRkdlVHnEMsYW-Gu7POq6WLHhI05GeeA/s1600-h/m_DSCF1282.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339870573932623970" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_0Xwr96Ha-dgPo8kyTelKt6YX2dJ1ExGqx2j1ZM0ZKFLZvZ0yopHmVwXkRyI1XcLN_7DUQDO7Pk50FmUcnJ2Fh5ny4eUwaIUV5CvT-uZ2issRkdlVHnEMsYW-Gu7POq6WLHhI05GeeA/s200/m_DSCF1282.JPG" border="0" /></a>As the stems of Knotweed are hollow, the theory is that you inject a strong solution of a systemic weedkiller directly into one of these stem chambers. The problem I quickly found was that the pressure build-up inside the chamber is quite considerable! To overcome this, I first pushed the needle all the way through the stem and then pulled it back halfway; the stream of air-bubbles followed by weedkiller emerging from the far side of the stem told me when the chamber was full - or there abouts. The larger diameter stems would quickly take all 20ml that the syringe would hold without any sign of being full. The downside to my Dr. Death machinations was the sheer number of stems. Within an hour I was longing for one of the mass-inoculation kits that vets and farmers use on livestock, or better still one of the high-tech versions as demonstrated on <span style="color:#33ffff;">Star Trek</span>... </p><p align="left">While injecting away like it was going out of fashion, I came across a number of stems clearly affected by our previous treatments; the walls of the stems were very thin and soft, and the new leaf growth was much smaller, very distorted and sickly-looking. I hope that when we return from our short break there will be much greater evidence of this. </p><p align="left">After two hours of injecting, I began to realise I should have brought a can of spray-paint with me to mark the stems treated. Its amazing how the stems all look alike. Once you've seen one... </p>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-1053636444505177072009-05-23T03:10:00.000-07:002009-05-23T04:03:05.109-07:00Everythings coming up... green?<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#33ff33;"><em>1st</em></span><em> <span style="color:#33ff33;">Movement...</span></em></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAL7sx8BmZ6oJYlKH6lIDXdPTJWsbwHMF8Dn9eHvVYbK8TlOdPCHCP0KHjuqov5_fMS7WcDxzHV5Gk_mgIMfcCiWfy3_KZDubM3nT-xbcTwCYzQp4dja0zhHi2AjOT4CnzxzN0u5EdrG0/s1600-h/m_DSCF1271.JPG"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;"><em><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338961247904625074" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAL7sx8BmZ6oJYlKH6lIDXdPTJWsbwHMF8Dn9eHvVYbK8TlOdPCHCP0KHjuqov5_fMS7WcDxzHV5Gk_mgIMfcCiWfy3_KZDubM3nT-xbcTwCYzQp4dja0zhHi2AjOT4CnzxzN0u5EdrG0/s200/m_DSCF1271.JPG" border="0" /></em></span></a><br /><br />I am very pleased that after a couple of months of worry and sleepless nights, that a couple of projects appear to be nearing fruition. In the front garden, the half-standard Dabinett has finally started to show signs of life with fresh green growth bursting out of the once-dormant buds.<br /><br />The Dabinetts that have been resident in the back garden for some years now have finished blossoming and so we were starting to worry a little about our new baby. However, the new Dabinett whips that we potted up are also very slow in coming forward, in fact they are only just starting to show signs of life. I wondered whether it was the soil or lack of sunshine - or even if the roots had drowned in all the rain...<br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;">2nd Movement...</span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3irrGK9nhtI8Gz2m9bxanYd4ulIrXblbv6y4IVhbUHlTt7iySiOxOWQyZxtV1yygJlxfmk-n07Bas2-qYOtKVfQcHuvXrAYMb-wdjjmbJMRvKhPoeMdGpBXpa73szMs8DMI4JHTV1nro/s1600-h/m_DSCF1272.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338960066520972050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3irrGK9nhtI8Gz2m9bxanYd4ulIrXblbv6y4IVhbUHlTt7iySiOxOWQyZxtV1yygJlxfmk-n07Bas2-qYOtKVfQcHuvXrAYMb-wdjjmbJMRvKhPoeMdGpBXpa73szMs8DMI4JHTV1nro/s200/m_DSCF1272.JPG" border="0" /></a> Eureka! For the first time ever, I attempted to graft something. Phill from South Wales sent me three cuttings that he had spare, to have a go at grafting myself.<br /><br />I had a few self-sets of apple tree seedlings coming up in various places around the garden, from some of the spent pomace that got scattered around, so these would provide my rootstocks for this venture. Unfortunately, either the hated neighbour's cats or the even-more-hated pigeons seem to have dealt a death blow to the Frederick graft, which I found separated into two parts on the ground. So it was up to the Pig Aderyn or the Cummy Norman to spark into life to prove that I could actually create a chimera... Frankenstien has nothing on me!<br /><br />I am happy to report that the Cummy Norman has sprouted, as can be seen in the above photo. Yes! I'm glad it did, for it's name as much as anything! The Pig Aderyn unfortunately is still showing no real sign of life, though one of the buds remains swollen and glossy. Time will tell, but I feel like an expectant father.<br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;">Finale...</span></em><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338964483182883954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3-edxQB5ix50c7rpCR23lGIDzgdsrA9rEYZJH-TWnWGUrOLePCcc7zRYLQ9U2ez-2ezhTtUErkUuq13hoHAxO7yE7JllmiFPpG_Zu-7SB_dQiehZ7v8yYniEi3b3mQax0CFhJLs9Zmc/s320/m_DSCF1265.JPG" border="0" />Yummy yum yum yum! May I introduce you to our <span style="color:#ffff00;">Wedding Cake</span>?<br /><br />Yep today is the day that Gail and I are getting married - it is also Gail's birthday, so a double celebration. This is the mother of all wedding cakes for two chocoholics who also make and drink cider!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2ISCUzb0S1bhjAWVlXEfMboTsnb8fFPhS1uczcnQrmLyjRQwLm9NmzWQDDa7muz0yvo9IEkIcEO-WNJRMtHaCQDL5-RVYNCTSd2b0Ms1xfaOYGGwT2VQRfliKOMXG5rPHnbMcd9PDHg/s1600-h/m_DSCF1263.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338960951186378514" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2ISCUzb0S1bhjAWVlXEfMboTsnb8fFPhS1uczcnQrmLyjRQwLm9NmzWQDDa7muz0yvo9IEkIcEO-WNJRMtHaCQDL5-RVYNCTSd2b0Ms1xfaOYGGwT2VQRfliKOMXG5rPHnbMcd9PDHg/s200/m_DSCF1263.JPG" border="0" /></a>We knew that we didn't want a traditional wedding cake and had always joked that we would have a chocolate one. So I had a word with <span style="color:#ffff00;">Helen</span>, one of our technicians at work who makes cakes in her spare time, to see if she could help us out? We left her pretty much with free reigns, the only thing we wanted was one layer to be dark and bitter chocolate for Gail and I to pig out on, and a second layer to be a sweeter milk chocolate layer for all the others...<br /><br /><br />So this superb piece of culinary artistry is the result. Is that a cake or is that a <em><strong><span style="color:#33ffff;">cake</span></strong></em>?<br /><br />The little apples are marzipan, the stalks are cloves; feel free to decide upon your own variety of apple that they represent. What more could you wish for, for a cider makers wedding cake?Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-55726577696955892292009-05-17T03:01:00.000-07:002009-05-17T03:57:02.095-07:00Rail Ale<span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;"><em>A bus man's holiday...</em></span><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336731045282339570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPeTeM6A1JnrZGhMQIodf-Fx9NqCmYCNg24FX3I6gOB0fMtPLjhjerPdumW7M5TKuWlM3dMslSLxv1NK8L0tCwk_wrETkBegbKcySYI_gEHz9hc5kEugwXUlh7VsdOGQdPCFY5p9yFC0/s320/m_DSCF1004.JPG" border="0" />We had a good time yesterday at the <span style="color:#33ffff;">Rail Ale Festival</span> at Barrow Hill Roundhouse, near Chesterfield. Travelling by train from home via Nottingham was fine, but the free bus service from Chesterfield train station to Barrow Hill was overloaded - I don't think they quite expected the numbers who turned up. A couple of blokes behind us in the very long queue for the bus mentioned getting a taxi but were concerned about the cost - so we volunteered to split the cost with them. £2 each for a quick comfy trip and to save us standing in the cold wind and rain for another hour was a bargain!</p><p>A couple of the ciders had already sold out by the time we arrived at about 12.45pm, so we started off by going for the ones we really wanted to try - or those with a high ABV as these are usually the ones to go first. What is it about ABV-tickers? After two or three to set my palate, I always like to try our own when it is on. This might seem strange but when we are blending our ciders, it is sometimes difficult to judge it in isolation, so a taste comparison with a range of other ciders is always worth it. Plus we have to check that it has travelled well - Quality Control and Quality Assurance and all that... </p><p>We needn't have worried as our "<span style="color:#ffff00;">Floppy Tabs</span>" blend stood up very well against the others. It was also selling very fast. In fact we were surprised by just how many folks were drinking cider and perry; not in a get-it-down-yer-neck way, but clearly discussing and enjoying what was on offer. As the afternoon wore on, the sky cleared and the sun came out so we migrated out into the sun. We met up with our friends Paul and Julia, Carl and David, and later Andy and Julie, though Andy had a shift to work behind the bars. </p><p>I enjoyed the Green Valley "<span style="color:#ffff33;">Rum Tiddly Tum</span>" rum-cask cider (very rum-my), the <span style="color:#ffff33;">Orchard Pig Dry</span> and the Westcroft "<span style="color:#ffff33;">Janet's Jungle Juice</span>" - the latter also being really dry for once. Hurrah! We are fans of Westcroft ciders and like to visit when in Somerset, but at festivals J's J.J. is nearly always medium-sweet or sweet, rarely medium and we've never come across it dry unless we fetch it ourselves. It's a great pity as it is best appreciated dry when it's depth of flavour and subtle apple notes can shine through. Yum yum. </p><p>A disappointment was the <span style="color:#ffff33;">Prinknash</span> cider dated at 2004 - how would a cider stored for 5 years stand up? Not very well and I found finishing the half quite a challenge. It had a strange mouldy-mushroom taste that was not pleasant and I guess this meant it had not been aged in stainless steel, but had been aged in wood and possibly not a sterile barrel at that. There was also a distinct nose and after-taste of acetaldehyde - the sort of smell you associate with sherry - which pointed to a level of contact with air. Oh well, least I can say I've tried it. </p><p>Our "<span style="color:#ffff33;">Heritage Orchard</span>" blend was also on, but it was tucked under the bottom shelf being held back. About 4.30pm, I got a text from Carl saying that the Heritage Orchard was being put on, that folks were queuing up for it and that it was "flying out". This was the first time we'd let any of the Heritage Orchard out, so I was eager to see how it stacked up against "the opposition". I needn't have worried, as it was very good indeed - so I had another... Sounds a little incestuous, but I had tasted everything else that was left. </p><p>After a few more repeat ciders and trying some of the best pork scratchings I've ever had, it was time to go to get the bus to the station and the train home. Carl had bought us a bag of pork scartchings as an early wedding present! As we walked past the cider and perry bar, there was hardly anything left so we were glad we had chosen the Saturday afternoon slot again. The bar staff were having to tip our box up, so we knew that wouldn't last long either. I doubt there would be any cider or perry left for the evening session.</p><p>Back in Nottingham, we had 55 minutes to wait for the train home so decided to take the tram and stop off at<span style="color:#33ffff;"> The Lion</span> at Basford. Nice pub, interesting decor and a nice mix of folks inside. However, we were disappointed to find the only cider on offer was <span style="color:#ffff33;">Black Rat</span>, a Thatcher's clone, not a patch on the old Mole's version but still tasty enough and better than many real ciders you'll find on a bar. The real ale selection was much better and though I was tempted with one at 10% ABV, I decided to be safe and go with a <span style="color:#ffcc33;">Castle Rock Harvest Pale</span>, while Gail had the Black Rat.</p><p></p>Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-54190569555958646052009-05-16T01:48:00.000-07:002009-05-16T02:07:00.196-07:00Mu-wha-hahahaha!<span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;"><em>Death becomes you...</em></span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336341505276879042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 206px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMvY6PbzNZ9Rs6D6K4kA9q58ZK-p0HGh6aMprwJYvcmMlmMmqY-lQz3ofZv6TFyBD09MJIRpEjYTkw_qfgLhsP8dicALuG8PmB8groR31P1BuiBP_NtWzIqP1LRrc3-VnRos5C_qFxaA/s320/m_DSCF1258.JPG" border="0" /><br /><br /><p>Pretty sinister title and image - and what the hell has this got to do with cider? </p><p>Well, we are currently having a battle with the dreaded <span style="color:#33ffff;">Japanese Knotweed</span> which was present on our proto-orchard when we took it over, in three large clumps and is busily spreading itself around, even though it is costing us an arm-and-a-leg in weedkiller to try to kill it off... I don't particularly like using lots of weedkiller so we have had to look for alternative methods. The law with what you can and can't do when you have this stuff on "your" land is pretty tough and tight, so we have to act before it spreads onto anyone elses plot.</p><br />Reading up on t'interweb, I came across an explanation of how some folks have found injecting weedkiller directly into the fat fleshy stems of <em><span style="color:#33ffff;">Fallopia japonica</span></em> is a very good method of destroying it and of course, limits both the spread of and contamination caused by the weedkiller. Hence the syringe and hypodermic needle. I'll have to be careful with this though, don't want any accidents...<br /><br /><br />The needle is actually blunt and we use them at work for applying solvent cements to bond plastics such as PMMA (Acrylic) together.<br /><br /><br />This will have to wait though, as we are off to catch the train to Nottingham and hence to Chesterfield for the <span style="color:#ffff33;">Rail Ale Festival</span> at Barrow Hill. The cider and perry list is very good - but so is the beer list! Decisions, decisions...Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270262049510816407.post-8158493016933236792009-05-12T23:29:00.000-07:002009-05-12T23:44:27.499-07:00Dabinett shows it's colours<span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;"><em>Could it finally be...?</em></span><br />Yes, I think it is! The new Dabinett in the front has finally started to show a little bit of <span style="color:#33ff33;">green</span> growth. To be honest, I had a hard job finding it, but it is definitely there so I can stop worrying so much. All I need to do now is ensure that some pesky caterpillar doesn't nibble it off or that the ants don't shepherd a herd of grazing aphids along to bleed it to death.<br /><br /><span style="color:#33ff33;"><em><span style="font-size:130%;">Bob update...</span></em><br /></span>Bob has flown the nest with his brood. Awww. Sad to see them go as I'll miss the cheeky chappy chuntering at me as I plodded around the garden. Mayhaps he'll be back with Bobess to start another brood before the summer's out?<br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:130%;color:#33ff33;">Linking up...</span></em><br />Just got a private message from a guy on the <span style="color:#33ffff;">SeatCupra.net</span> forum (for SEAT car owners btw) whose name is Matt, who also makes cider and wants some advice. I'm not the only loony on the SEAT owners site then... Must remember to get back to him, though things are terribly busy at the moment, both at'mill and back at the ranch.<br /><br />Need to get off to <span style="color:#ffff33;">The Arkwright Arms</span> tonight to drop off four boxes of cider - two for the Arkers and two for the <span style="color:#ffff33;">Rail Ale</span> bash at Barrow Hill this weekend. Mind you, can't go there until we've been to the photographers to discuss the photos and arrangements for our up-coming wedding - only a week and a bit away. Yikes! Now what have I forgotten to do.......Ray and Gailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00498248811652659816noreply@blogger.com0