vindiboy
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https://ibb.co/album/FbCZ2Q We saw an advert in the CCC magazine one time for fruit pickers in Suffolk, applicants had to have a van or caravan to live in, no experience needed and no piece work, set rate of hourly pay,sounded interesting so decided to give it a go, we arrived at the farm in Debenham , and met the owner who showed us to the van parking, it was a small field with toilets and hook ups, we had to pay a pound daily for the hook up, we were paid daily , all queuing at the owners truck for our daily dosh , lovely , the Farm was 25 acres in total , 2/3 given over to Apple growing, there were about 15 couples there in total in vans and caravans and all were friendly and helpful, we picked Raspberries for about 6 hours a day depending on demand and weather, it was a super hot Summer that year so it was great, we did not pick straight hours because some days were just too hot and the fruit would spoil so we did a few hours in the morning and a few more later in the day, all very laid back , lots of banter in the Raspberry rows and good fun all round,
After work we would shower and then have a get together in he field for drinks barbies and walks round the farm, it was a super few weeks, there was a local bus which stopped outside the Farm that we rode to Ipswitch Diss and other places free. we did not work weekends unless an order had to be filled, Friday evenings we all went by bike to the little Village of DEBENHAM, for Fish and Chips which we all sat and ate in the local park, Debenham is a fantastic Village with super beamed houses and a lot are thatched, they had open days in some of the houses from time to time so we could go in for a look around and learn the history of them and the village, apparently DEBENHAMS stores were named that because one of the founders came from Debenham, the are local to the farm was lovely very rural and most houses had tables outside in their gardens selling there local produce, honey eggs veggies all very cheaply and fresh so we ate well too,
We were also asked if we would like to do Apple picking , so we said yes, that would start in September so we stayed in the area travelling around looking at the general area staying on CL sites or wilding, we could have stayed at the farm but wanted to range further afield, we visited Southwold Aldburgh Ipswitch and Norwich from the site so a good look around, We had a fish man call weekly at the site selling fresh fish and shell fish from the local area and CROMER , so we had a good feast of fish weekly too. There was often Fetes in the local area so we would all go to them by bike, also a car boot sale in another village.
Picking Apples is very different from picking Raspberries and apples need careful handling too because an incorrectly picked apple will show finger prints at a later date, all the apples we picked went into cold storage on the farm until needed., except those we picked for Waitrose, those were specially selected , and had to be tree ripened, but the work was easy a nd relaxing , as it was later in the year we did not have so many Barbies etc after work but was still good fun.
There was a CO OP shop in Debenham for our shopping, and the local Public Toilet had a dividend card issued to it, so we all gave any Divi we received when shopping to the Public Toilet which was very special, full of flowers and very well kept. with it's own garden, England Eh? hee hee. I became part time Tractor driver at the apple picking when our driver was out delivering stuff in the van so that was fun, one of the villages had a home made mechanical clock making competition, some very ingenious gadgets were produced [ pictured ].
After work we would shower and then have a get together in he field for drinks barbies and walks round the farm, it was a super few weeks, there was a local bus which stopped outside the Farm that we rode to Ipswitch Diss and other places free. we did not work weekends unless an order had to be filled, Friday evenings we all went by bike to the little Village of DEBENHAM, for Fish and Chips which we all sat and ate in the local park, Debenham is a fantastic Village with super beamed houses and a lot are thatched, they had open days in some of the houses from time to time so we could go in for a look around and learn the history of them and the village, apparently DEBENHAMS stores were named that because one of the founders came from Debenham, the are local to the farm was lovely very rural and most houses had tables outside in their gardens selling there local produce, honey eggs veggies all very cheaply and fresh so we ate well too,
We were also asked if we would like to do Apple picking , so we said yes, that would start in September so we stayed in the area travelling around looking at the general area staying on CL sites or wilding, we could have stayed at the farm but wanted to range further afield, we visited Southwold Aldburgh Ipswitch and Norwich from the site so a good look around, We had a fish man call weekly at the site selling fresh fish and shell fish from the local area and CROMER , so we had a good feast of fish weekly too. There was often Fetes in the local area so we would all go to them by bike, also a car boot sale in another village.
Picking Apples is very different from picking Raspberries and apples need careful handling too because an incorrectly picked apple will show finger prints at a later date, all the apples we picked went into cold storage on the farm until needed., except those we picked for Waitrose, those were specially selected , and had to be tree ripened, but the work was easy a nd relaxing , as it was later in the year we did not have so many Barbies etc after work but was still good fun.
There was a CO OP shop in Debenham for our shopping, and the local Public Toilet had a dividend card issued to it, so we all gave any Divi we received when shopping to the Public Toilet which was very special, full of flowers and very well kept. with it's own garden, England Eh? hee hee. I became part time Tractor driver at the apple picking when our driver was out delivering stuff in the van so that was fun, one of the villages had a home made mechanical clock making competition, some very ingenious gadgets were produced [ pictured ].
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