Off to Faversham in Kent, for a day of winter pruning of apple trees, to learn about buds, both vegetative and fruiting, spurs and growth years.
It was a cold, windy wet day. After coffee, our tutor began his teachings and we all listened with the greatest of interest. Questions were expressly encouraged and soon a flood of them broke out and we all learnt from these sharings. Later on, photographs came out as well, and these were also instructive.
Soon there was enough break in the rain for all of us to hurry out to the orchard of the National Fruit Collection. This consists of rows of two trees of each named variety, neatly lined up in an orderly fashion, all mostly of a bush stature, with a tier of framework branches and more growth above. They are beautifully pruned to maintain shape, vigour and fruitfulness, giving the orchard a most pleasing and attractive quality. Fallen fruit gathered about the trunks, the bright green of the grass muddied and sticky by the rain and the grey skies lowering, if we had not been such a gathering. We soon hurried to the warmth of the classroom.
We scribbled furiously away, as our tutor spoke at great length on the knowledge stored, and so easily presented. A quiet, pleasing presentation which carried us forward to a communal lunch time, in Brogdale's Courtyard restaurant, crowded with lively visitors.
The rain continued to drizzle its way through the lunch hour but showed promise of abatement as the afternoon began. We prepared ourselves for the cold and soon we were out, beyond the National Fruit Collection, and inspecting another orchard of thickly-leaved trees which, the students of the previous week's course, had been unable to work on, for the mass of greenery.
Luckily, after our tutor's pruning demonstration, we were able to have a go ourselves, embarrassingly ruminating on past pruning endeavours, but trying hard now not to do as done before!!! Then our tutor wandered back down past "our" trees to inspect our handiwork and confirm our agitated selves - had we got it right??? And, yes, we could lop off a low-swung branch belonging to us, which would be absolutely the right thing to do. But what of our neighbours tree? Why hadn't they done the same with their similar branch, hey???
We quickly sauntered back to the warmth of our classroom and hot drinks and I got in a few quick questions about plum trees and we might have looked at Brogdale's cherry trees but the others were all ready gathered, and we couldn't delay.
The last thirty-minutes went by so quickly, with all of us putting our last queries and pet theories to the test; and then we were on our way out, either dashing for taxis to trains, or popping in to the nice few shops at Brogdale. I popped into Chic Unique to review their collection of painted and pine furniture and want-able small items. It's one of my favourite shopping places!
It was becoming quite dark by the time my little Mazda curled it's way from Brogdale and back on to the motorway for London. Traffic was heavy coming away from London, with a wide and steady blaze of headlights, lighting up the darkening sky.
I knew it would be necessary to stop for a break and food and I needed too, earlier than imagined, for my gaze was definitely stuck into a forwards position and, going slowly somehow seemed to make tiredness more of a problem. Once I was back up to full seventy mph speed, concentration was easier and more fluid.
I came off at Cobham and settled for my favourite travel-food, McDonalds griddled chicken and bacon salad, McDonalds gluten-free potato wedges, with dip, plus Latte, which was simply smashing.
Finally getting home about 9o'clock, I endeavoured to type up my notes but, my computer was having none of it, so I switched it off and watched TV for a while, before collapsing into bed with book club choice, Lady Chatterley's Lover, which I'm discussing on Monday, it being my own decision to read and review it!
Have you read it and did you enjoy the experience?
Happy reading,
Daisy
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