News From the Orchards

The first Saturday in October 22 saw the return of Apple Day after 2 years of absence due to the effects of COVID lockdowns etc. Groundsman Mike Spring and retiring Head Gardener Ark Redwood presided over the fresh apple juice sampling in the Lower Gardens using a traditional wooden hand press next to the Refreshments area and in Bucktons Orchard storyteller Martin Faulkner gathered an appreciative audience for his extraordinary tale of the apples epic journey from the Tien Shan mountains of China to Britain interspersed with his own guitar music and song.

At the last minute Beekeeper Linda Perfect turned up in her Bee suit and powerfully gave us all many insights into the life of a hive and answered questions. Then it was time to hand out the apple picking poles with their catcher attachments to several keen adults and encourage youngsters and others to pick the low hanging fruit first with their hands. Many people took home 1 or 2 or even more bags of the biggest crop of apples I’ve ever seen in my time at Chalice Well. The weather was kind and some great late native apple varieties like Ashmead’s Kernel, Adams Pearmain and Blenheim Orange were sampled and bagged.

Why was it such a great year? Light is the answer with Sunshine galore during the Summer drought but these big mature M25 apples have deep roots to find water even in drought and anyway they benefitted big time from a wet spring and last minute rain in the late summer and early autumn. Mike Spring and Amanda Glynn from the Garden Team picked enough apples for more than 2000 bottles of apple juice to be pressed and bottled by Hecks of Street for sale in our shop and other local outlets such as Earthfare.

This year’s Apple Day is scheduled as ever for the first Saturday in October (7th). See our publicity nearer the time for full details. with blessings as ever

Anthony Ward

Our First Wassail In Alice Buckton’s Orchard

I’ve several times proposed a Wassail in Alice Buckton’s Orchard and was so pleased it came to pass this year. Amanda Glynn, Druid and Household and Garden Team member whipped up enthusiasm and support from staff and we worked as a team to research and organise the first Wassail in modern times at the Well on Tuesday January 17th 2023 (Old Twelfth Night)

The vast majority of Wassails involve the ceremonial blessings of Apple Trees. The origins of wassailing go back 1000 years or more and also involved house visiting ceremonies and Lords of Misrule ( hence Wassail Kings and Queens).

The traditional cry of Waes Hael or Wassail is a salutation and blessing of Scandinavian origin meaning ‘Be of Good Health’ and was used as communities gathered to ward off Winter hunger and herald the coming season of seed sowing and bless the apple trees and invoke a good harvest in autumn.

Having sampled Apple Cake and mulled apple juice at the Gardeners Lodge, we set off in the late afternoon of January 17th, 12 staff and trustees including Lindsay Smith, our Chair, processing slowly through the gardens to the Well Head for a silent meditation and then on through the meadow to Bucktons Orchard where we were bathed and blessed in late sunshine of spectacular yellow and red hues as the Sun began to set very low in the sky over the Polden Hills.

Entering the orchard we circled in front of an Adams Pearmain above the Retreat House garden and and I gave a brief guide to our ceremony sending off everyone to drive out evil spirits from their chosen tree using hand drums and shouts and chants. No shotguns allowed! We called out Waes Hael together and the response ‘Drink Hael’! as we toasted the apple trees.

Then Amanda and friends poured apple juice over the trunk of our chosen apple tree and tied toast soaked in apple juice to the branches of the tree to encourage our tree and our orchard to produce a big harvest in Autumn.

Finally I taught and sang a variation on a traditional Wassail blessing song popularised by the legendary folk family The Watersons from their album ‘Pence and Spicy Ale’ beginning:

“For its our Wassail, our jolly wassail, joy come to our jolly wassail, How well they may bloom, how well they may bear, that we may have our apples and juice next year. Hatfuls! Capfuls! Three Bushel bags full and little heaps under the stairs!”

The evening ended close to darkness with three cheers for the apple trees of a more familiar nature: Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray!