Autumn Harvest

With temperatures soaring towards 30 degrees this weekend, it’s hard to believe that Autumn is here - but now it’s October, and we can’t delude ourselves any longer. The weather will be doing more Autumnal type things from this week onwards, bringing us back down to the ground like the golden-brown falling leaves (how poetic).

I remember the annual routine when I was at Primary School; each year, we’d raid our parents' cupboards for Harvest donations, which we would take to the local church for a special Harvest service. It would later be distributed amongst the elderly and less fortunate people in the area. A quick ride in a Westminster minicab could bring all those memories flooding back, because the RHS are holding a Harvest Show at the Royal Horticultural Halls in SW1 this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here you can buy jams, teas, herbs, baked goods and fresh seasonal produce. I don’t think they’ve gathered this food from the cupboards of local primary school children either! It will be high quality, yummy, scrummy stuff.

If that picture of some pumpkins wasn’t enough to entice you, just wait until you hear this: there will be a giant mushroom competition! Giant mushrooms. Just like in Super Mario. There’s also a ‘Harvest hang out’ area where you can listen to some poetry and get creative, inspired by foodscapes (where they make pictures out of food. I once made a smiley face out of my English Breakfast). It costs £5 to go on the Tuesday and £3 on the Wednesday (perhaps because all the best food will be gone). Check out the online listing in Time Out too, as you can get 2 for 1 entry with a print out of it. If you’re under 16 and accompanied by an adult or an RHS member, you won’t have to pay a penny. Super.