February 2026
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Down this Way Lies Wonder
Working for almost two evenings a week and pretending to look after apple trees can take it out of a soul so recently I decided to get away from it all. I booked a week in a reasonably priced cottage and set off for a holiday on Holy Island. There was a bit more planning… Continue reading
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Crab Apple Elegy
Quit your griping. I know my placeNeglected rosy stepchildToo generous for respectToo tart for loveBut come back when your horny trees are yearningWhen blossom proper’s long since goneAye, that’s me. I’ll still be here.Don’t forget to tip your waiter. Ok, fair enough; I’m not much of a poet but someone should write poetry about crab… Continue reading
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New Life by an Old River
My dream has always been to find apple trees in the wild and to transplant them somehow into my orchard near Louth. It would be nice to find a variety thought lost but the chances are remote and these days I’d be happy just to add a tree I think looks nice. There’s one near… Continue reading
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The Great Wassail Swindle
Wassailing is an ancient tradition that is enjoying a bit of a resurgence these days. In times of yore, groups of people would parade through towns and villages singing songs and serenading the Wassail Queen (some historians would have you believe it laid the foundations for what was to become carol singing). Eventually the bevvied… Continue reading
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About Me
I’ve been writing about orchards and Lincolnshire heritage apples for over five years and still don’t know my arse from my elbow. This blog is supposed to be an almost humorous record of my attempts to raise apple trees in a field just outside Louth. Mrs Toogood is just one of the lost varieties I probably won’t find.
The Appeal of Mrs Toogood 