Conkers & Pineapple Chunks

I wonder why the year doesn't start in September, as so many different things begin at that time - like school or college terms. I remember as a kid, the endless summer break coming to an end and a new classroom beckoning for a new term.

   At Junior School a regular September fixture was the Harvest Festival where we were asked to donate to the church harvest. I would scour the cupboards at home, looking for any stray tins of corned beef or fruit chunks lurking at the back. Along with the rest of the school our class would walk down to the Abbey in 'crocodile' where the 'harvest' would be displayed. I looked in vain for my tin of pineapple chunks amongst the mountain of cans and fresh produce. The vicar (later Canon) was a cheery chappy and usually read a suitable food themed sermon, emphasising the abscence of it in some countries. One year, as a sort of filler slot, one musically minded lad gave us a rendition of the 'Chariots of  Fire' theme - no connection with the Harvest Festival, but diverting stuff none the less.

   Of course, September was also the conker season. Like marbles they seemed to be a sort of unofficial currency at school and like the real thing I never seemed to have a lot - maybe I looked in the wrong places. There were a few horse chestnut trees in the Abbey churchyard though, and myself and a mate decided upon a conker hunting expedition there one evening. One tree had some lovely specimens hanging high in the branches. After some fruitless attempts to dislodge them by lobbing up sticks, my mate decided to scale the tree. The spiky prizes were almost in his grasp when there was a sudden shout of 'OI!!' Some ratty old fellow (there seemed to be a lot of them around in the 80s) had appeared from nowhere, and in no uncertain terms told us to bugger off out of the churchyard.

   So for me, September has always seemed like a time of change, transition and a little uncertainty. In the meantime, my daughter's nursery is having a food collection for Harvest Festival, and I'm sure if I look hard enough I'll find a tin of fruit chunks hiding in the cupboard somewhere!