Signpost October 2024

Message from Tania Watson (PCC member, West Challow) 
As with so many people this season our apple tree had a bumper 
crop.  However, unlike previous generations in my family who fastidiously 
collected, stored & cared for their produce, I was overwhelmed by simply 
picking them off the ground, let alone making anything worthwhile with 
them.  And obviously sneaking them onto the compost heap would have been a 
complete waste.  
Following a visit from proactive guests one weekend in September I was left 
with buckets of perfectly ripe fruit, a stripped tree and hours of apple peeling 
ahead of me.  Luckily, almost as my guests drove out of the driveway, a fellow 
villager informed me about an apple pressing service locally.  After a dummy 
run and successful visit to have our own apples (and hers) pressed we sent a 
message out on our village WhatsApp group asking for apple donations and 
offering to take surplus apples to be pressed, bottled and labelled.  These would 
be sold in aid of our beautiful little church, St Laurence’s.  We were only 
expecting a few bottles to be produced and certainly only a few purchases to be 
made.  However, one week on, and at the time of writing we have sold out and 
are going back to collect our 2nd batch of West Challow bottles of apple 
juice.  It appears we are, as a small community, currently and completely 
accidentally raising money for our village church while being thankful for 
seasonal produce and the generosity of others.  What else is October, the 
month signifying harvest time, all about?