PARISH & COMMUNITY NEWS - Cotton Parish

Dear Readers,
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Parish and Community News October 2012
We have chosen as our theme for the month - ‘Season of Mists and
Mellow Fruitfulness’ from John Keats' poem, ‘To Autumn’, c. 1820:
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core......
By now you may have been enjoying the abundance of fruit and
vegetables which are produced every year at around this time. As well as
those things which we grow in our own gardens there is always a free
harvest which we can gather from our English hedgerows. Blackberries,
Elderberries, Rose-Hips, Sloes and so on, you will probably know many
more than us. These can be used in recipes for delicious desserts, jams
and chutneys but also for herbal remedies and drinks. Chutneys and
pickles made now should be matured and ready for use at Christmas, as
will such things as Sloe Gin.
(We would always advise not to eat anything from the hedgerows unless you are sure of what it is)
October is also the time to make traditional Christmas puddings and
Christmas cake if you want the flavours to be fully matured.
We hope you enjoy this edition of the magazine
If you do we are Brian and Amanda Manley
if not we are Mr and Mrs Smith
5