‘A Year in the Life of Thatchers Cider’ film/video announced

I’m very pleased to announce that I’ve been commissioned to shoot a year long video documentary on Thatchers cider.
The Sandford based cider makers have given me and my cameras unlimited access to all areas of the cider making process including full access to it’s Somerset based cider mill as well as all it’s beautiful orchards in North Somerset.

I’m very excited about this project. I’ve been photographing the cider making business for many years, documenting the orchards during the changing seasons so it will be wonderful to capture the planting, apple blossom, and autumn harvests on film

I will also be filming in the company’s historic ‘oak vats hall’ as well as their new state of the art bottling plant.

I started shooting 2 weeks ago with the annual Wassailing Ceremony. This was a stunning event to capture, with all the colour of the Wassail queen and king, the green man dancing around the apple trees, roaring fires and spilling of cider to welcome in the new year and the blast of three shotguns to ward off the evil spirits !

Check out this site for updates and excepts from the film.

A still from this years Wassail.

Apple Juice and Cider update

I spent part of Christmas eve dropping off bottles of apple juice to people who let me pick from their gardens. This included the vicar of Warmley (pictured below) who donated a good selection of apples from the Vicarage’s Orchard.

Christmas eve donation of Apple Juice to the Vicar of Warmley

As it’s new years eve I wanted to impress some of my friends with a sample of this years cider, so this morning I went down to Willsbridge Mill so see how it’s progressing.

Well it’s a bit of a mixed bag, 2 tubs are still fermenting (that’s good) 4 seem to have finished fermenting but are tasting pretty sharp and need more a little more time to mature (actually a lot more time if I’m being honest !). One tub hasn’t started fermenting (not good) or has possible got stuck so i’ve added a bottle of warm apple juice to hopefully get it started.The last tub tastes rather acetic (the problem I had with my cider last year) so that will probably end up being poured into Siston Brook.

Anyway, the upshot is that I’m not taking any cider to the party, apart from a bottle of Orchard Pig which I was given as a xmas present. That should do the trick !

Happy new year,

Neil
The Scrumping Project.

Jamie Oliver big’s up Bristol and traditional Cider

Anybody see the great advert for traditional (whatever that is) cider
on Jamie Oliver on Monday night !

Rogers Wilkins takes a rest in his cider bard

Roger Wilkins was at his Somerset best with everybody enjoying a few
drinks in his “Bar”, I even spotted the chap who spends half his life
(when not drinking cider) searching for the famous black panther that
prowls exmoor.

“You can really taste the apples” said Roger, Cool !

His place is really worth a visit whatever your taste in cider is.

Also a great advert for Bristol, I’m very a proud Bristolian (apart
from the dreadful links to slavery of course), off to cook rice and
peas and bake some apples (to a Massive attack soundtrack,
probably !).

Picking and pressing day slideshow

Finally got the images up for the Scrumping project’s picking and pressing days this autumn. It was a really lovely couple of days, as usual I met some lovely people, had a great laugh and sampled some really lovely apple juice and cider(interesting, mainly mine !).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Also on you tube with music
or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m-U-0obLpQ

I’m still pressing for apple juice and cider will be down at Willsbridge mill this sunday afternoon, with the scrumping project press if any one fancies popping down to say hello.

Here is a cider song for you all.
Neilx

A Cider Song

To J.S.M.

The wine they drink in Paradise
They make in Haute Lorraine;
God brought it burning from the sod
To be a sign and signal rod
That they that drink the blood of God
Shall never thirst again.

The wine they praise in Paradise
They make in Ponterey,
The purple wine of Paradise,
But we have better at the price;
It’s wine they praise in Paradise,
It’s cider that they pray.

The wine they want in Paradise
They find in Plodder’s End,
The apple wine of Herford,
Of Hafod Hill and Herford,
Where woods went down to Herford,
And there I had a friend.

The soft feet of the blessed go
In the soft western vales,
The road of the silent saints accord,
The road from heaven to Herford,
Where the apple wood of Herford
Goes all the way to Wales.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Cadbury Heath Heritage Group

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of filming the Cadbury Heath heritage group talking about the local areas history, particularly their experiences with apple orchards around Cadbury Heath and Kingswood. The area was covered in orchards right up till the 1950s and they told some lovely stories about their scrumping days.
Below is the link to the video that I made with South Glos Council.
I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think

New Home at Willsbridge Mill

Willsbridge Mill, new home for the Scrumping Project

I’m really happy to announce that the Scrumping Project has a new permanent home at the historic Willsbridge Mill on the edge of Bristol. It’s great news which means the project has firm foundations on which to build on and also means that my garage can return to normal (much to June’s relief !)

We had a great afternoon pressing apples for cider and apple juice at the Avon Wildlife trust’s annual Autumn fair last sunday and meet lots of great people. What I’ve discovered at these events is that I get very little time on the press as visitors/families and friends always jump at the chance to work the press.

The Scrumping project press proves popular againat the Autumn Fair.

I also did my first pressing at the mill on friday afternoon after spending the morning scrumping at various orchards around Oldbury and Rockhampton. This was made really tricky by the mist that hung over the landscape. I get lost driving around those lanes at the best of times and I completely failed to locate a couple of my best orchards. I’ll hopefully find them next autumn !

Pics from the picking and pressing days to follow soon.

Neil

Picking and Pressing this weekend !!

Everything is set for a fantastic weekend of apple picking and pressing in South Glos !!

Scrumpers at Oldburt Naite orchard

Saturdays apple picking at the wonderful Oldbury Naite orchard is now fully booked up, hopefully the sun will be shining, we’ll have hot and cold drinks as well as apple juice tasting and freshly make cakes, bacon rolls to nibble on and help keep our strength up while picking.

Things are also looking good for Sunday’s Apple day at Grimsbury Farm, Kingswood. There will be lots of presses on the go and people are welcome to bring their apples to be pressed. There will be music, games for the children and lots of lovely apple juice (and some scrumping project cider !) to taste. Grimsbury farm have also recently opened it’s new cafe selling fantastic tea and cakes so that is worth checking out as is the farm’s new play area for children.

Hope to see you there !!

Neil
The Scrumping Project.