John Nash: ‘Warm memories

Warm memories

John Nash is a retired, well sort of retired, fruit farm manager in Kirdford who enjoys scribbling about life on the farm from the now to days gone by.

So, dear friends, I hope you came through the heat and trauma of this summer and we can now settle down to the peace and calm of the coming autumn.

But what a summer!

Constant reminders of what to do in the blistering heat. And how to avoid the dangers of the results of global warming.

In 1976 I was returning from a holiday in Guernsey. The view from the window of the plane as we crossed the coast was amazing. The wonderful patchwork quilt of fields where all brown and crisp from the prolonged drought that had hit us, but it was the rivers that stood out that day. All of them were a ribbon of green. With virtually no flow from feeding tributaries upstream they were just a static mass of duck weed.

I hear that the temperatures this summer are fiercer but I hope that the water situation is better protected and we can steer clear of the restrictions that were unavoidable during that memorable summer.

It was on that holiday that I became aware of the way children learn the tricks of the trade as they grow.

We were holidaying as a large family party. Along with the three of us we had nan and gramps, aunt and uncle, sister-in-law and hubby and their children. My son was just one year old and his allotted bedtime was around seven o’clock.

His crib was at the base of our bed and I had foolishly volunteered to be his putter-to-bed each evening. (I know… I’m a saint!). As we were in unfamiliar surroundings I felt it best to sit on the bed and read until he dropped off. The little darling had other ideas. He gurgled happily and practised

his kicking skills, while all the while eyeing me through the bars of the crib. I tried not looking, but he then added small vocals to the performance to attract my attention. I bit my tongue, and delivered a smile through gritted teeth. The other members of the family were by now all sitting down and enjoying their evening meal and cool glass of wine… buggers! The best part of another half hour passed as I reflected on the joys of parentage. Then I had a bright idea. I draped a large bath towel over the bars of the cot so that I was no longer the object of his undivided attention. It worked. Silence fell and only feint movements could be detected from the other side of the towel wall. I returned to my book. For a full five minutes I thought I had cracked it. Then the movement 1976/2022: England’s green increased. I viewed the towel with suspicion and then despair as two and pleasant land? tiny hands appeared over the top of the bars followed by a head. He studied me squirming on the bed with frustration, accepted the fact I was still there and then the head slowly descended back to the depths. He would repeat this peek-a-boo game for another half hour or so before succumbing at last and sleeping peacefully with the look of pure innocence radiating from his angelic face. The little devil! This was repeated every night of the holiday. No tears – well, not from him anyway – but I never did get to eat dinner with the others. So, when you younger folks reflect on the heat of this summer try also to lock a memory away of an event that coincided with those days of sweat and sunburn. Then in years to come see which one generates the most joy to the memory! John Nash

Little Pax

An occasional mini-series on apple varieties… Originally Parvulum Mysterium or Little Mystery.

A lovely story with this pretty little apple…

A seedling tree was growing in the 19th century St Cecilia’s Abbey in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight.

In 2000 the Benedictine nuns at the Abbey had planted and cared for the young tree in the walled gardens overlooking the Solent. The tree grew well and under the attention of Sister Anselma it produced the most stunning blossoms followed by bumper harvests of superb fruit in the late autumn. The fruit has a Pearmain-like shape and has a wonderful sweet and aromatic flavour. Trees are neat and easily controlled. The fruit stores well, and will keep well into the New Year if kept cool. John Nash