Saturday, 22 December 2012

Gloucestershire Orchard Trust


Painswick Community Orchard Group would like to thank Gloucestershire Orchard Trust for all their help and advice. The Trust conserves and promotes traditional orchards in Gloucestershire.  
Apples

Perry Pears

Plums

Damsons

Cherries

Nuts

If you would like more information visit the Trusts' Website for a wealth of information on:

Local Varieties (Charles Martell's online books)

Sources of Rare Heritage Fruit Trees

Training, Events and Juicing at The Two Orchard Centres (Brookthorpe and Hartpury, both near Gloucester)

Community Orchards

School Orchards

Advice and Information

Events (including wassailing!)

Juice  Cider  Perry

Online Orchard Marketplace

Grant Aid

Wildlife

Surveys (National and Local)

Identification

Walks and Talks

How To Join

And Much More!

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

make a weekend of it...

We have had a few enquiries about the Painswick wassail from 'out of county' which is very exciting for our humble gathering! The more the merrier we say and why not make a weekend of it? Painswick is the most enchanting of Cotswold villages, with winding lanes, cosy stone cottages, beautiful views, fine dining and cider of course! So come and stay in St. Anne's B&B in Gloucester Street, an 18th Century wool merchants house in the heart of the village.


Greg and Iris are the most delightful hosts and look forward to welcoming you to 'Cider with Rosie' country! 01452 812879 email: greg.iris@btinternet.com


Monday, 17 December 2012

Here’s to thee, old apple tree…


We are really excited that the fantastic Foodie Bugle has featured our article about wassailing...

Toasting a tree’s good health and banging saucepan lids to ward away evil spirits, it might sound peculiar, but this is the ancient custom of wassailing, and it’s taken quite seriously around here!

Wassailing has been practiced for centuries, the tradition pre-dates Christianity. The word “vas heil” is believed to originate from the Norse language, and translated into the Old English “waes hael“ meaning “good health.”

The custom is mainly celebrated in the cider counties of south east and south west England; Kent, Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire to ensure a good harvest the following year. It takes place each year after dark on Old Twelfth Night, which falls on the 17th January, later than we celebrate today.

Traditionally the whole village would take part and would gather with fire lit torches, walking to one or many orchards swinging pitchers of cider, blowing horns and banging saucepan lids noisily to warn away evil spirits and wake the trees from their slumber. The custom varies from village to village but usually a song is performed, such as this example from ‘England In Particular’ by Sue Clifford and Angela King;

Here’s to thee, old apple tree
Whence thou may’st bud and whence though may’st blow,
And whence thou may’st bear apples enow.
Hats full, Caps full, Bushel, Bushel, Bushel Sacks full,
And my pockets full too!
Huzzah!

A king or queen leads the wassail, choosing the orchard’s most bountiful tree and placing in the forked trunk some bread soaked in cider, a gift to the robin, believed to be the guardian of the orchard. Cider, mulled with sugar and cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg spices, is poured over the trees roots to encourage growth, as well as drunk by the revelers, often in specially crafted wassail cups or bowls. In Gloucestershire, it was tradition to drink ‘Lamb’s Wool’ a mixture of hot ale, sugar, roasted apples with cream or eggs floating in it!

“Never to be forgotten, that first long secret drink of golden fire, juice of those valleys and of that time, wine of wild orchards, of russet summer, of plump red apples, and Rosie's burning cheeks. Never to be forgotten, or ever tasted again.”
Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee

Nowadays wassailing is making a return to the countryside with local community groups and cider producers reviving this ancient custom. Painswick Community Orchard Group, in Gloucestershire, held their first wassail in 2012 with many curious villagers joining in:

“We founded the group after finding a map of the village dating back to the 1800’s” said Iris McCormick, owner of the local B&B, “It showed how almost every other field was an orchard and we were shocked to realise how few, if any were still here today. It was important to us to bring this wonderful tradition back so that future generations can enjoy it and value our orchard heritage.”

According to a Mintel Oxygen Report (Feb: 2012) cider has seen a 67% increase in sales between 2006 and 2011. This has resulted in growth for local cider producers and seen an increase in small-scale artisan cider producers entering the market. But times are hard, and this year the country suffered the worst harvest for 15 years, with many trees failing to fruit. 

Take part in the Painswick Wassail on Saturday 12th January from 5pm.