Apple Day is coming soon

The poster below gives an outline of our event on 5th October, starting at 10 am. We'd love to have a few extra volunteers though:

• to help us set up our tables and gazebo, 
• to welcome visitors, 
• to give visitors the chance to taste different varieties of apples and choose their favourite, 
• to point them in the direction of our story teller, 
• to explain the fruit tree identification activity in the orchard
• to provide tea for adults and squash for children   
• 

Come along for a fun morning. 

Get in touch if you would like to help, by sending an email to friendsofmayowpark@ymail.com. 

APPLE DAY 2018

This article, by Pippa,  first appeared in Sydenham Society News, Winter 2018.

Mayow Park’s annual Apple Day on Saturday 6 October started fabulously – grey Autumnal weather, but visitors and passers-by soon arrived when they saw tasty apple slices being proffered to try.

We set up in the orchard (opposite the tennis courts) looking very festive and apple-themed. Sadly, we couldn’t offer any apples actually grown in the orchard – I wonder where they went? Hopefully into a nice crumble somewhere. However, there were plenty of different varieties to try (challenge: five are hidden in the wordsearch below), all available at your local greengrocer or supermarket!

As always in Mayow Park, a great feeling of community spirit and support surrounded the stall. Around 60 people stopped to say hi or join an activity. Rich Sylvester, the excellent storyteller who has joined us before, created a circus feel with his parachute tent tied up in a big tree, with lots of children sitting on rugs listening attentively. Rich used puppets and props to bring his stories to life, and the children added sound effects with sticks and singing.

At the stall, some children coloured in apples and took part in the apple and pear hunt around the orchard for a prize treat. Meanwhile, the grown-ups seemed delighted at the offer of a (free) warming cup of tea. Then it all got a bit soggy. Then really very wet, and it was time to abort. Like so many family camping trips it was a matter of trying to get everything quickly away into the dry. What hero volunteers we had, smiling through the lashing rain, not at all resentful about all those lovely blue sky days in the previous weeks. Great spirit and very British. And we do grow good apples (maybe because of the rain?).

Mayow Park’s next event is Tree Dressing on Saturday 1 December during National Tree Week. Based on an ancient custom that celebrates the life-giving properties of trees, we hope you will join us to decorate some of the wonderful trees in our park. For details of this event visit Friends of Mayow Park on Facebook or email friendsofmayowpark@ymail.com

R	Y	X	C	T	Y	L	N
C	U	O	P	N	P	R	G
J	X	C	X	R	U	K	A
O	R	N	S	B	K	X	L
T	Z	F	E	E	J	Z	A
U	K	A	Z	Q	T	M	P
V	R	O	B	J	I	N	D
B	C	R	Y	Z	K	O	M

Can you find the names of some apple varieties in this word search? Look for these:

Gala, Robjin, Russet, Cox, Braeburn

Our volunteers with apple varieties to taste

Our storyteller with audience

Countdown to Apple Day

In the countdown to our Apple Day in Mayow Park, the past two days have seemed a bit chaotic. Yesterday was all about waiting at home to receive the new orchard sign so that it could be installed before Saturday. When it arrived it had to be unpacked, creating a sea of bubble wrap plastic scattered over the corridor floor.
Today, the wait was for heritage apples we had ordered from Brogdale - four different varieties to use for tasting at Apple Day. Luckily they arrived before 9.30am. The apples from Brogdale were specially ordered: you won't be able to find these in your local supermarket.  We will also buy more common varieties for tasting on the day.
Today was already booked as the day that our five bat boxes were being installed.  The bat boxes and the new sign were installed thanks to Steve and Lee from Glendale.

installing the new orchard sign

Job  completed

The Friends of Mayow Park (FOMP) have held evening meetings to finalise arrangements for the day. We plan to set up two gazebos and to have  story telling in the woodland area nearby.We have also planned

• Unveiling the new orchard sign
• Pointers on how to identify apples.
• Apple tasting from a range of varieties.
• Hunt for apple names - search for labelled apple templates hidden in and around the orchard.
• Story telling with a professional story teller

Some more ideas we had for games and activities include apple bobbing and longest apple peel, drawing and poetry writing. Come along and join in.

The event is free and suitable for everyone. It is organised by Friends of Mayow Park. We are always keen to welcome new volunteers to help with events.

The new orchard sign showing all our fruit varieties 

We will not have any of our own apples at our event. Some fell off the trees as part of the natural  'fruit drop' process of thinning out, some because squirrels or birds fancied them  and some were removed by volunteers if they showed signs of brown rot or were too crowded together. All this thinning helps to encourage larger fruits. But that still left  plenty of apples, pears and three quinces, none of which were ripe or ready for picking. Unfortunately all these remaining fruits were removed by people unknown. This is a blow for those volunteers who cared for the trees throughout the spring and summer hoping to share them at our community event. As we had already planned the Apple Day it was decided we would buy in apples - after all they are the stars of the show.
See you there!