Harvest

[spotit3]

I love harvest time, all the different coloured leaves and lovely autumnal colours. Was at two harvest services today and the church had been beautifully decorated. The two speakers were also very good.. Anyone else like harvest time?

[bednobs]

i like the tune to "we plough the fields and scatter". Does that count?

[parkie]

Absolutely spotit.
Reaping the harvest of many hard hours of work by the farmers.
I think we have a lot to thank them for.

[starone]

Autumn - Season of ripe fruitfulness.

[spotit3]

Oh yes, Bednobs, that is my favourite harvest hymn. Think the words say it all!

[spotit3]

Agree, Parkdale, we have a lot to thank the farmers for, especially this year. They have had a very difficult time.

[dotty.]

brings back memories of going with the sunday school the day before the harvest service and decorating the childrens corner in ormskirk church with vegetables and flowers.

[gness]

Hi Spotit. How are you? Harvest was my favourite time at school. Beautiful colours for decoration and all the children made fruit or vegetable creatures for display in the school entrance. The smell was wonderful but the caretaker got very grumpy.
We had some wonderful Harvest songs too. x

[parkie]

I like that song as well bednobs. When I was young I used to have visions of people ploughing the fields then scattering in all directions and could not understand the reason why.
The next line, 'the good seed on the ground,' somehow didn't seem to be related to the previous line.

[spotit3]

Hi Gness, had forgotten about the school harvests when we all had to bring something in for it. Always knew who lived in the country and who lived in town by the fresh vegetables or tins!

[Ann]

I love Harvest Festival at Church too, its a great time to be thankful for all the blessings we receive in life. We go to a small church, almost a chapel, where I have been going all my life. I love the Harvest hymns and have many happy memories of 30 years of being a Sunday school teacher to little 4 & 5yr olds, seeing them stagger out to the Harvest table to put on there a marrow or a bunch of carrots almost as big as the child! Many children made up little baskets of fruit tied with a pretty ribbon, these were usually taken to the local hospital. The smell of fruit and vegetables mixed with the smell of the flowers, usually chrysanthemums ........... always reminds me of Harvest these days. In the 50s & 60s most of the gifts were of fruit and veg grown on people's allotments, there was an enormous amount spread over three trestle tables with fruit arranged along the window sills. This food was auctioned off after the final Harvest service. Then in the 70s everyone used to raid their cupboards to take along tins of food which added to fresh fruit and veg was distributed to the elderly living near to our church. In recent years we have only a small display table at the front of the church and our "harvest gifts" are in the form of donations to be sent abroad - this year to Sudan. Harvest ..... yes, a lovely time of year!

[bednobs]

i remember at sunday school the parents used to dredge up the unpopular tins they found at the back of the cupboard

[Ann]

Yes with the rusty lids and out of date .... yes, I remember it well!

[boxtops]

I like it but Harvest Festival was always at the end of September when I was a child - September is the Harvest Moon, October is the Hunters Moon.

[woofgang]

I actually saw this when it was first broadcast and have never forgotten it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_TPzPJvsSM

[Ann]

Our Harvest Festival was 3 weeks ago, it seems better somehow in September.

[DaisyNonna]

Tins and money somehow do not do it for me however well meaning the donors are. Thanks for being able to grow food does.

[Ann]

I love this harvest poem "Diary of a Church Mouse" by Sir John Betjeman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N5tDyGq9D4

[askyourgran]

Yes I do, the church services are lovely and the children take all their gifts of fruit and veg to the altar. It's nice to see the harvest moon too, I know it's hard work for the farmers, my god son has a couple of tractors and harvests for various farmers in the area. He works in the fields late at night sometimes to bring the harvest in. Used to love kicking up the fallen leaves on our walks when we were small.

[Ann]

Yes AYG, walking in the dried leaves on the way to school, kicking them in the air. Carrying our precious prize conker to school either for the nature table or on a piece of string to smash our opponent's conker to bits!

[Ann]

//Tins and money somehow do not do it for me however well meaning//
I totally agree Daisy, most of the older people in our church would prefer an old-fashioned Harvest celebration but we are overuled ........... but then, what can you do afterwards with the huge amounts of fruit and veg, nobody seems that poor these days, and often they are so ungrateful if it is taken round to them, and they just expect it year after year.