By Kate Hodges
27th September 2019
EVENT Peel Sessions
Apple Days have started across the country, and will continue for the next month or so. There are hundreds taking place – search online to find one near you. Taste harvest goodies and get lost in the hay bale maze at the beautiful Morden Park in London, or join in apple games and trails at Parke in Devon (find more National Trust events here). Many community farms and orchards will also be running apple-themed celebrations – find one near you here or here.
MAKE and DO Nature’s Rainbow
Natural vegetable dyeing combines the fun of fire (although you can do it just as easily in your kitchen), crazy experimentation, and customising your clothes. Colours come from natural materials – onion skins, blackberries, beetroot, spinach, bark and oats – and fixed using a ‘mordant’ – a salt or vinegar solution. Find full instructions here. Why not try using the method to create some crazy, all-natural, tie-dye effects – find ideas for patterns here, or to dye wool for knitting or weaving?
RECIPE Special Blends
Autumn days call for warming soups. We’ve been looking for some fresh inspiration – try pairing spiced cauliflower with tahini, using in-season marrows with coconut milk in creamy vegan recipes or foraged mushrooms in barley bowls. Or go a little lighter yet still hearty with vegetarian pho and Japanese ramen.
EVENT Harvest Home
Celebrate city farms and community gardens at Woodlands Farm in Greenwich this Saturday at the free London Harvest Festival. Try farm craft activities including spinning, pottery and metalwork, pat animals, and wander around the horticultural displays (but will you see anything to beat the hilarious Jacob Leeks Mogg?) Woodlands Farm Trust is a huge, 89-acre working city farm and ancient woodland and an excellent place to escape to year-round.
EVENT Boing! Splash!
The World Stone Skimming Championships takes place on Easdale Island, Argyll every year. This is the smallest permanently inhabited island of the Inner Hebrides – about 60 people live here full-time. Up to 350 entrants compete to bounce their flat rocks across the surface of the water. There are categories for all age groups, plus teams (there’s a small fee to enter) – you can win a cup, slate medals or, for older competitors, walking sticks! The rules are lengthy – some people take this very, very seriously. If you can’t make the event, why not set up your own competition at a pond or beach near you – find hints and tips for skimming here.
