london is not a place where boredom is an acceptable state of being. there is too much going on, too many lost people subconsciously searching for other lost people. it was on a chilly, arbitrary morning when i went looking for an adventure. i was a lost person, and it was on this day that vegetables fell from the sky.

borough market is all that is wonderful and delicious, and i oftentimes found myself wandering around the stalls on a rainy day, bright-eyed and hungry. on one of these occasions, i fortunately stumbled into one exciting affair.

apple day.

{lovingly borrowed from bex at doubleskinnymacchiato}

the excitement was palpable on this festive, fall occasion. whether that was due to the flowing river of hot cider drinks, or the lively antics of the lion’s part, i can’t be sure.

{throwing vegetables.. and fruits. and grains. this went on for an hour at the least}

 “the Lions part is an eclectic company of like-minded professional performers who collaborate to create seasonal festivals, plays and theatre pieces that transform public and community spaces as well as traditional theatres with a fusion of stories, playtexts, music, customs and heritage.”

their production this day was called “october plenty”
and here is a bit of the fun it included:

“october plenty is an autumn harvest celebration held annually in southwark. beginning on the bankside, by shakespeare’s globe, october plenty mixes ancient seasonal customs and theatre with contemporary festivity, joining with historic borough market, southwark and borough market’s apple day.” 

here is my own run-in with one of the group’s most prominent characters, the berry man. when i first noticed him, i was in the middle of tasting various “breeds” of apples from apple farms all over england. hands down, my favorite was the saint edmund’s pippin, or saint edmund’s russet from suffolk. the power that my sweet tooth has over my mind and body is overwhelming at times and this particular apple (hands down) was the juiciest, sweetest, and softest of them all, very pear-like if you will.

“The Berry Man – our Autumn incarnation of the original Green Man – decked with wild fruits and foliage, leads the company. He carries an Apple Tree to where it will be placed within the Bankside area, with general songs and music on the street for all.“ – source

{a photo of the saint edmund’s pippin, from: trees of antiquity – click to browse a plethora of heirloom fruit trees, all available for purchase}

i would definitely refer to myself as a nature freak plant lover. of all types. i have been fortunate enough to grow up, surrounded by the toils and plunders of the gardeners / farmers in my life. my grandfather still maintains with the help of family a nice chunk of prime indiana farmland. he supported my mother and her three siblings by alternately growing crops of corn and soybeans, indiana’s finest. when i was much younger, my mother would slip my tiny hands into old leather gloves and march my brother and i over creeks and through the fields to a wild blackberry-entrenched fence line on the very back portion of my grandfather’s property. here we would toil for hours and hours {well, probably less than a full hour if i’m being honest, my childhood perception of time was slightly skewed} under the hot sun until our gallon-sized prairie farms ice cream buckets were full. looking back, i am glad that i was taught to re-use items at an early age – waste not, want not! – whatever on earth that means. {i still don’t know.} now, before you start muttering “child labor” and “those poor kids” under your breath, just shoosh it. [enter rant about kids needing to spend more time outdoors, etc. etc.] we loved it. a week later, we would be rewarded with cobbler a la mode and a never-ending supply of home-canned blackberry jelly. today, there’s no need to make the long drive out to his farm. a few years back, my mom bought a house with a bit of land behind it {with a fantastic old red barn to boot!} and discovered on it- her very own patch of wild blackberries. during summer months, i take advantage of that little patch and fill my face nearly every day with freshly gathered berries, tiny berry bugs and all.

apple day reminded me of home. it caught me off guard in the best kind of way and in the most magical of environments {borough market} and i was even moved enough to add my own wish to “the story orchard” —

the story orchard

“… a little glade of young english apple trees as a space for children to gather. there they can decorate and re-clothe the trees with green wishes (paper apples) and listen to stories about apples, markets, harvest time, bees and many an autumnal tale!”

the last one is a bit of a doozy, i’m almost positive that it says:
“i wish i was the fairy called leila
with a blue flower in her hair & blonde hair
& i was the same size as her – mary” (age 4, presumably)

i’m afraid i won’t be disclosing my wish in here, lest the old wive’s tale is correct, and it won’t come true if i do. am i also the person who knocks on wood and throws bits of salt over their left shoulder? guilty.

happy belated apple day, everyone.
i’m already excited for next year’s.