The English Apple Man

Right now, supermarket shelves are brimming with home-grown favourites - crisp, juicy and full of flavour. Every bite is a celebration of our orchards, our growers, and the best of British farming.

When you choose British, you're backing our countryside, cutting food miles, and enjoying some of the freshest fruit in the world.

This British Apple Month, let's fill our baskets, crunch with pride, and show why British is best.

With a plethora of old' and new' apple varieties. this RHS Fruit Identification guide is a very useful reference point for gardeners and amateur growers.

Click on: RHS Fruit Identification

The English Apple Man and Mrs Apple Man are moving to a retirement apartment in mid November. We are both now 'into our 80's and struggling with mobility issues.

Having started married life 62 years ago in a modest cottage on our family farm, followed by a move into my grandmother's house next door as we began our family; a son born in 1966 and a daughter born in 1968, before moving into the family farmhouse in the early 1980's where we continued fruit farming and packing apples for Sainsburys and Tesco through Norman Collett Ltd until 1991 when, with our children having set off on their own career paths, I decided the future looked uncertain as we were very much a Cox Orange Pippin farm; "great when Cox was King, but by the 1990's competition from imported Gala and Braeburn had eroded the premium"

In 1994 I set off on a new career path, when I joined Home Grown Fruit Ltd in a quality/technical role, and through various name changes and a joint venture the company morphed into Worldwide Fruit Ltd and I as Technical Director (UK) with my team, responsible for the UK growers and packhouses compliance.

Having lived in East Kent from 1996 until I retired in 2007, we then moved to Robertsbridge in East Sussex from 2007 until 2012 when we made our penultimate move to St. Leonards on Sea, where we have enjoyed a very happy retirement in a lovely bungalow complete with a generous garden.

BUT: Now a lifetime of 'hoarding' is causing much despair as we commit much 'rubbish' and a lot of sentimental belongings to a skip (2) and local charities!

Among the now unneeded furniture, are two items which we would love to see ending up in someone else's home. Our cherished antique oak dining table and our oak dresser.

The 'cherished oak dining table' has wonderful 'back story' Soon after we married in 1963 and living on a farm workers wage circa £10 (gross) a week. My father came home very excited from a trip to obtain some spare parts for a piece of farm machinery, AND said: "the firm is closing and there is a wonderful old oak table, used until then as an office desk" Its beautiful, they only want 30 shillings for it (£1.50 in todays money) Initially my young wife said; "I don't want that old thing in my house! But she was very fond of my father and relented. So off I went in a van I hired for 30 shillings (30 bob) and collected the said table for a total outlay of £3.

The story continues: about three years later, and we had moved into 'Grannies' old house, much more room to display our 'cherished table and my friend Ted said would you like me to fix the joints (some off kilter) and French polish it for you?

Well what a transformation, absolutely stunning and Ted (who charged me £30) said "you do realise it's probably worth £300 don't you?

Move on circa another 30 years and I had it refurbished again. This time at a cost of £300 I also added 6 new very solid oak chairs at a cost of £900 !!!

SO, if anyone of my readers, fancies any of the items pictured, please make contact via my contact page

Below: left. Our cherished oak dining table and right. a closer image

Below: Our Oak Dresser

Of the above, I am particularly hoping someone would like the 'cherished' Oak Table as it has so many memories, I'd love to see it end it's days in a farmhouse or cottage location.

If anyone would like it, all I ask is a modest payment and the buyer to collect. We move house in mid November so if interested please get in touch.

That is all for this week, next week the Journal will feature Paul Ward who owns Mole End Farms the largest organic apple growing business in the UK and his plans for conversion into an 'Employee Owned Trust'

Take care

The English Apple Man