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August: those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer
This is the first of a new style of journal-like blog entries that I’ve been inspired to try after reading too many books by John Lewis-Stempel. The plan is to intersperse them with my normal adventures but, so far at least, adventures have been notable only by their absence. Still, by cunningly setting a low Continue reading
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Aargh, no. Leaf Curl!
Before I rose from an extended lie-in last week, photos winged their way through the ether depicting actual apples on my trees in Ticklepenny. By the time I’d had my weekly cold shower and dragged on the only pair of jeans I can still get around my stomach, my excitement had reached fever pitch. It Continue reading
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Sometimes the Universe just sucks
This has been a difficult post to write. I am not into horse riding. Horses themselves I kind of like, in much the same way as I like most other animals. I’ve developed a grudging respect for the prodigious amount of crap they can produce per day and the ability of said crap to delight Continue reading
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Back to the Cider Press
Last week’s account of my intrepid expedition to an orchard was read a lot more times than my normal drivel. Obviously, that’s massively flattering but also a bit unnerving. Even if my mum read it even more times than she normally does, there’s probably at least five new punters wondering what the hell they’re wasting Continue reading
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Cider Making for Weedy Amateurs
Here’s a fascinating fact. Apples have so much natural yeast on their skins that if you leave them alone, they’ll just alcoholise themselves. That’s definitely true and proves that cider (hard cider to my American friends) is the natural way that God intended apples to be consumed. Probably. I’m fairly certain I read that somewhere Continue reading
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Fuelled by Haslet
For want of anything better to do with a fortnight of barely deserved annual leave, this week I decided to go apple hunting. I’m nearly two years in to this project and I’m yet to make any progress towards recovering Lincolnshire’s lost appley heritage. The list of missing varieties has about 40 entries but there’s Continue reading
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Spreadsheets
After the breathless thrill ride of my last two posts, this week’s offering largely concerns a spreadsheet. Everyone loves a spreadsheet, by which I of course mean my friend Bethan loves a spreadsheet. I’ve changed her name slightly to protect her identity, not that she, or indeed anyone else, reads this nonsense. That’ll teach me Continue reading
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Some corner of a (not so foreign) field
Louth is a lovely place. Little shops, winding streets, and comfortable benches everywhere offering a brief sit down and space for a gobfull of pork pie. My parents have lived here since time immemorial (1974) and I did too when I was a youngster who still had hopes and dreams. Now they’ve all gone, it Continue reading
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The National Apple Register of the United Kingdom: a brief special bonus episode
I returned home from work this afternoon to find a brown parcel leaning rakishly against my front door. I wasn’t expecting anything else, so I immediately assumed it must be my copy of the National Apple Register of the United Kingdom and dived inside with it clasped lovingly to my chest. It was heavy. That Continue reading
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William Ingall’s Finest Creation. Probably.
Here goes then. I’ve got the list and I’ve got a bus pass. Show me an extinct apple and I’ll be on my way. Scanning the list, I decided the obvious first choice for my investigative powers was the William Ingall. The fact that it was developed in a no doubt top secret lab near 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 