After a hiatus last year, I’m delighted to confirm the return of the Cambridge Apple Day for 2014.  Just like Glastonbury, we’re returning better than ever.

We’ve set the date – Sunday 5 October. Usual venue.

Put the date in your diaries and start securing those scrumping privileges for your neighbours’ trees.  It looks like a bumper year for apples in Cambridge, but fruit is ripening pretty early after all of that sun.  It’s never too soon to start thinking about storage.

A small group volunteers got together on Saturday to bottle the fermented juice we had left over and, although we were generally very abstemious, we did sample a little of the cider and it was fantastic.

One of the challenges this year is what to do about our scratter.  Regulars will know that a few years ago I adapted a wood chipper and it’s served us very well so far.

The emerging consensus is that we need to move to the next level in safety and capacity, buying our very own “purpose-built” fruit mill so that we can continue to provide delicious juice and cider for our neighbours, friends and family.  More news to follow on that project.

We’ll also try to use the blog to document the cider making process a bit more thoroughly this year.  It’s been great to get lots of feedback and ideas from fellow cider-makers and people who’ve been inspired by what we do to give it a go for the first time.

Apologies again to the many people who’ve asked, but the Cambridge Apple Day is still an invite only affair. We might open it up to the public one day soon, but for now it’s only for neighbours, friends and family. Drop me (Phil) an email if you want an invite.