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The ‘apple library’ with a lost world on its limbs
The explosion of crisp, commercial apple varieties in the last century doomed many other breeds into obscurity. But in a field in Kent in the UK, some of them live on.
A few miles from the sea in Kent in the south of England, hedges of hazel, ivy and briar stand like ramparts separating kingdoms of fruit.
In one field are quinces, dense as golden anvils. Nearby are grey medlars, hard and sour. Pears gleam through red leaves. But the real stars are the apples – more than 4,000 trees, of more than 2,000 varieties. Their fruit clusters along wand-like branches and carpets the ground in a fragrant layer of softly rotting flesh. They smell of a thousand warm afternoons spent snacking in a hammock or up a tree. I kneel under the branches of a particularly laden tree to find the label with the name. It reads, aptly: “Weight.”
This is the United Kingdom’s National Fruit Collection, a living repository of apples once grown in the British Isles, as well as other fruit. It is not the only apple library out there. The USDA’s Plant Genetic Resources Unit in Geneva, New York, and New Zealand’s Plant & Food Research’s collection, among others, host thousands of apple varieties.
But unlike those collections, which include wild relatives of apples, collected in Kazakhstan or on salty beaches in Alaska, to aid apple breeders in search of new traits, this collection is a record of the British love affair with the fruit. “There’s a history of apple production here,” says Matthew Ordidge, a senior research fellow at the University of Reading near London and the nation’s curator of apples. In the lively café at the collection at Brogdale Farms in Faversham in Kent, he recalls a proclamation made a 100 years ago by apple enthusiast Edward Bunyard: “No fruit is more to our English taste than the apple.”
At least 16 civilians in Nigeria’s north-western Zamfara State have been killed in a military air strike, apparently after being mistaken for criminal gangs.
Residents told local media the victims were members of local vigilante groups and civilians defending themselves from armed gangs notorious for kidnapping people for ransom.
The strikes targeted militant gangs in Zurmi and Maradun areas and the state governor, Dauda Lawal, offered his condolences to the community.
The military has acknowledged conducting air strikes, which it said had dealt “a decisive blow to bandits terrorising villages in the area”.
Just in time for the holidays, stylist to the stars Erin Walsh shares her insider recommendations for getting to the heart of New York City’s vast shopping scene.
New York City’s shopping scene is undeniably iconic. The nation’s undisputed retail capital since the late 1800s, its shimmering concrete streets teem with luxury flagships, historic department stores and edgy indie boutiques. And yet, few out-of-town visitors venture past the chain stores of 5th Avenue, Rockefeller Center and Herald Square.
“If you only go [there], you’re missing the special gems,” said Erin Walsh – long-time New York resident and stylist to flawless Hollywood celebs like Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez. Walsh is a passionate shopper, and equally passionate about New York City. “I love New York so much,” she said. “I feel like when you live there, it becomes not just a part of your identity, but energetically, your heart starts to beat with it.”
Walsh’s approach to shopping in New York City is simple: “Get lost. The only way you get surprised and inspired is when you just wander around.” But for Walsh, getting lost means meandering through laser-focused “pockets” of her favourite neighbourhoods to create ultra-niche experiences that don’t stop at shopping. “I always think of the restaurants around it,” she said. “Things that feel cosy… it just makes it more fun.”
Here is her expert guide to “getting lost” in New York City’s shopping scene.
The need for an increase in school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) has been highlighted by a new Swindon council report.
In the past year, demand for the services has risen at a greater rate in Swindon than the national average, with particular concern expressed about the lack of provision in the south and east of the borough.
Councillors who sit on the council’s adults’ and children’s overview and scrutiny committee will learn how the borough is matching up to an increasing demand for special provision at the committee’s meeting next week.
The report has been prepared after councillors agreed a motion put forward by the Conservative shadow member for education and children, councillor Jake Chandler.
It said: “There are currently over 2,720 children with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP) in Swindon.
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