Harvest

Today was the last day of Term 1 for the kids at school, so that meant it was Harvest Assembly day. Up until about the 1950's children at this time of year would be excused school to go to help bring in the harvest from the fields.

Thanks have been given for successful harvests since pre-Roman times in Britain. The celebrations in modern times usually include singing hymns, praying and decorating churches with baskets of fruit and food in the festival known as Harvest Festival or Harvest Home or Harvest Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving.

In British churches, chapels, and schools people bring in food from the garden, the allotment or farm, although nowadays people tend to buy a few extra cans of fod or dried produce at the supermarket and supply that. The food is then distributed among the poor and senior citizens of the local community, or used to raise funds for the church, or charity. In the case of Aginoth Junior's School the produce collectd is being donated to teh local Meals on Wheels service that provides food for the eldery and infirm in the community who are unable to cook for themselves.

In the USA and Canada, the festival is set on a certain day and has become a National Holiday known as Thanksgiving (now you know it's origins :o) ). In North America it has become a national secular holiday with religious origins, but in Britain it remains a Church festival giving thanks to God for the harvest.

The modern British tradition of celebrating Harvest Festival in churches began in 1843, when the Reverend Robert Hawker invited parishioners to a special thanksgiving service at his church at Morwenstow in Cornwall. Victorian hymns such as "We plough the fields and scatter", "Come ye thankful people, come" and "All things bright and beautiful" helped popularise his idea of harvest festival and spread the annual custom of decorating churches with home-grown produce for the Harvest Festival service.

Anyway...

Me or Mrs.A always make sure one of us goes to the shcool functions and special assemblies, even thogh we are not at all religious, we like to show suport for the school and to Agi Junior...as we should :o)

I recorded it and i'm trying to get it uploaded so you can see it :) .... I can sense your excitement :o)


That was this morning.


I spent the bulk of today buried in more paper, this time sorting out my claim on my Life insurance under the critical illness clause we thankfully activated when we took out the policy...it covers me for being declared permanently disabled and unable to work by my employers medical advisor...which they have and I have a certificate to prove it. Now I just have to persuade our insurers. It feels a little odd claiming on your own life insurance I must say...

A quick break for lunch then put up LMB's new Dora the Explorer Nightlight (a birthday pressie from Nanny A). Then I spent an hour fiddling with my laptop and playing on the various forms I frequent.

Collected the kids from school(s) at just after 3pm, armed with Lollipops I took them to their favourite playground to enjoy the afternoon surprisingly warm Autimn sunshine, they happily burnt off some energy for an hour. A quick trip into town to post my Insurance claim ended up in a new Milkshake bar across the road from the Post Office...Shake King...over 150 flavours of Milkshake on offer, the kids we're suddenly awestruck....Want to see some of the list? remember you can mix and match....

Aero Mint
After Eights
Amaretti
Apple Pie
Bakewell Tart
Banana
Battenburg
Black Jacks
Blackberry Pie
Blackcurrant Jam
Blueberry Muffin
Blueberry Nutrigrain
Boost
Bounty (Dark Chocolate)
Bounty (Milk Chocolate)
Bourbon Biscuits
Bournville Chocolate
Cadburys Caramel
Cadburys Creme Egg
Cadburys Fruit & Nut
Caramac
Carrot Cake
Cherry
Chocolate & Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Chocolate Mini Roll
Chocolate Muffin
Chocolate Pop Tart
Coco Pops
Coconut Ice
Coffee
Cola Bottles
Crunchie
Crunchy Nut Cornflakes
Curly Wurly
Custard
Custard Creams
Dairy Milk
Devon Fudge
Digestives (Milk Chocolate)
Digestives (Plain Chocolate)
Dime Bar
Dolly Mixtures
Double Decker
Farleys Rusk
Ferrero Rocher
Fig Rolls
Fresh Cakes (Daily Specials)
Frosties
Fruit Cocktail
Fruit Salad Chews
Frys Orange Cream
Frys Peppermint Cream
Frys Turkish Delight
Fudge
Fuse
Galaxy
Galaxy Caramel
Ginger Nuts
Green & Blacks
Haribo
Hersheys Cookies n Creme
Hob Nobs (Milk Chocolate)
Hob Nobs (Plain Chocolate)
Jaffa Cakes
Jam Doughnut
Jam Tart
Jamaican Ginger Cake
Jammie Dodgers
Jammie Wagon Wheel
Jelly Babies
Jelly Beans
Jelly Tots
Kinder Bueno
Kit Kat Chunky
Lemon Curd
Lindt Chocolate
Lion Bar
Liquorice Allsorts
Love Hearts
Malt Loaf
Malted Milk Biscuits
Maltesers
Mandarin
Maple Syrup
Marmalade
Marmite
Mars
Marshmallow
Milky Bar
Milky Way
Minstrels
Munchies
Nutella
Oreo Cookies
Parma Violets
Peach
Peanut Butter
Peanut M&M`s
Penguin
Penny Mix-up
Picnic
Pineapple
Quality Street
Raspberry Jam
Reeces Peanut Butter Cups
Refreshers
Revels
Rolos
Roses
Sherbet Fountain
Shortbread
Skittles
Smarties
Snickers
Snowball
Soft Toffee
Special K
Special K Bar
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Laces
Strawberry Nutrigrain
Strawberry Pop Tart
Syrup Sponge
Terrys Milk Chocolate Orange
Terrys Plain Chocolate Orange
Tic Tacs (Lime & Orange)
Tic Tacs (Mint)
Toblerone
Toffee Crisp
Toffee Popcorn
Treacle
Treacle Tart
Trebor Extra Strong Mints
Twix
Walnut Whip
Weetabix
Werthers
White Crunch

We settled for a couple of Wispa milkshakes to share which were on offer (and not on the main list)...I now have 3 contented children who think Daddy is great...and probably a bit of a soft touch ... OK yes I know I am :o), but all this is helping me destress after a year of faffing around with work and suchlike.