0:00:02 > 0:00:03It's the season of harvest,
0:00:03 > 0:00:06traditionally a time of gathering in the crops and for giving thanks
0:00:06 > 0:00:09for all God has provided throughout the year
0:00:09 > 0:00:12and today we're celebrating a harvest with a difference.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15This is the iconic Billingsgate Fish Market and I'm here to try
0:00:15 > 0:00:18and persuade traders to part with their prize catch
0:00:18 > 0:00:20for a harvest festival of the sea.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22Harvest festival!
0:00:22 > 0:00:24- That's incredibly generous of you. - Pleasure.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Thank you so much, bless you.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28And I'm in the very north of Scotland,
0:00:28 > 0:00:33meeting a composer inspired by this beautiful coastline.
0:00:33 > 0:00:37And in National Adoption Week, we meet a family who felt called by God
0:00:37 > 0:00:39to adopt a very special little girl.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50There are over 150 species of fish and shellfish here at Billingsgate,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54everything from cod and salmon to snapper and parrot fish
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and we've music aplenty too and hymns with a harvest theme.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01We begin with a spiritual that puts God, the Creator, at centre stage.
0:03:10 > 0:03:11I love harvest time...
0:03:13 > 0:03:16..with its tradition of displaying gifts of food in church
0:03:16 > 0:03:18and giving them to people in need.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22It's five o'clock in the morning
0:03:22 > 0:03:25and there's no plaited loaves or tins of beans -
0:03:25 > 0:03:28I've been invited here to the famous Billingsgate Fish Market
0:03:28 > 0:03:31to help collect produce for a very special church display
0:03:31 > 0:03:33which is going to go to charity.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41In its heyday, Billingsgate was the largest fish market in the world,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44with its own culture of merchants and porters.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Although it's now moved from Old Billingsgate
0:03:48 > 0:03:50to its new site in the Docklands,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54more than 25,000 tonnes of fish from all around the globe
0:03:54 > 0:03:56are traded each year.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59It's an impressive sight.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02I love to shop, but I've never got up this early to do it.
0:04:02 > 0:04:03And for fish?
0:04:03 > 0:04:05I don't know where to start.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Thankfully, fish seller Bill Thornton
0:04:08 > 0:04:11has over 35 years of experience.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14So, it feels really early.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16- Early?- Why is everyone here so early?- Early?
0:04:16 > 0:04:20I've been here since two o'clock. You're late! You've had a lie-in!
0:04:21 > 0:04:24- So, Bill, what am I looking at? - That is a monkfish.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28- That's just the monkfish tail. - Oh, my word.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32- There we are, that's the.... - Mackerel?- That's mackerel.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34That's out of Aberdeen.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35- Look at that.- That is beautiful.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38That was still swimming around a couple of days ago.
0:04:38 > 0:04:39- The colouring is beautiful. - Gorgeous.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42And that's so cheap and so easy to eat
0:04:42 > 0:04:44and it's full of omega-3.
0:04:44 > 0:04:45That's what you want to eat.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47You're not just selling fish today, are you?
0:04:47 > 0:04:49You've got an important job today. What are we here to do?
0:04:49 > 0:04:52The important job today is the harvest festival tomorrow,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54which is an old tradition in the market.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56It's gone on, as far as I can recall,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58it must be a couple of hundred years.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Every harvest festival,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03all the merchants down this market are very, very generous
0:05:03 > 0:05:06and they give fish, as much as they possibly can,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09then we take it to a church, St Mary-at-Hill,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11and we do a fantastic fish display
0:05:11 > 0:05:13and at the end of the day,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16all the fish is given to charity.
0:05:16 > 0:05:17Right, ready? Away we go.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20'Right, I've got my white coat on. It's time to go fishing.'
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Come on, lads, harvest festival.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26- Morning. Here we go.- Is that for us?
0:05:26 > 0:05:28- Thank you very much. - Oh, wow, look at that!
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Thank you. Thanks very much.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34- Harvest festival - any donations, please?- Harvest festival?
0:05:34 > 0:05:37- Thank you so much. - That'll be lovely.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39- Look at that.- Snapper.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- Two oysters. One for you.- Whoo!
0:05:45 > 0:05:47That, that you've just given us, those two boxes of oysters,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50- that's cost you money?- Yep. - And you always give the best,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52not just the stuff that you're going to throw away?
0:05:52 > 0:05:54No, never ever, always the best.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Same as everyone's done, always give the best for it.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58- That's incredibly generous of you. - Pleasure.
0:05:58 > 0:05:59Thank you so much, bless you.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Right.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Thank you, thank you very much.
0:06:04 > 0:06:05Wow! Look at that.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09- Harvest festival.- Harvest festival.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11OK, shark!
0:06:11 > 0:06:12Look at it!
0:06:12 > 0:06:14This one's alive.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Oh! Thank you so much!
0:06:17 > 0:06:18Thank you.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21- That way?- How much have you got to spend?- Nothing.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25- She'll pray for you tomorrow. - I'll pray for you.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Thank you.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29- Here, look at that.- Oh, fantastic!
0:06:29 > 0:06:30Here.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34So, Bill, how have we done?
0:06:34 > 0:06:36This morning, we've done very, very well.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40The merchants of Billingsgate Market have been very, very generous.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41Very generous.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45I'll be honest, I'm surprised we've got as much as we have.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49- It's quite overwhelming, really. - It is, it is.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52I just hope tomorrow, the display will match their generosity.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55And what does it mean to you to take all this into church?
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Oh, humbling.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00The reason we do it - Jesus was a fisherman
0:07:00 > 0:07:04and he went out in the Sea of Galilee with the disciples
0:07:04 > 0:07:07and when it was rough and they weren't catching anything,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10he walked out, he said, "Fish on the other side,"
0:07:10 > 0:07:11they did and up it came.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Our fishermen are not as lucky as that!
0:07:17 > 0:07:21But He's still up there and He's still pointing them
0:07:21 > 0:07:24in the right direction, so to have this, the sea's bounty,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26for tomorrow is fantastic.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38As well as this being the harvest season,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40it's also National Adoption Week.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44I'm amazed that there are still thousands of children in the UK
0:09:44 > 0:09:47looking for a forever home and it's even more difficult
0:09:47 > 0:09:50to find homes for children with disabilities.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Alan and Claire already had children of their own
0:09:55 > 0:09:59when they felt called by God to adopt their youngest daughter.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02The family have asked that we don't show their daughter's face
0:10:02 > 0:10:04to protect her identity.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09I had a long period of illness. Before I was ill,
0:10:09 > 0:10:11we were discussing about having the fourth child.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14It was quite a hard decision
0:10:14 > 0:10:16and twice during that time,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19I woke up having had a dream.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23God quite clearly said to me, "Give this fourth child over to me,"
0:10:23 > 0:10:26so he wanted me just to let go of this whole thing
0:10:26 > 0:10:29of having a fourth child, which is pretty hard.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34After I got better from that, we started looking at it again
0:10:34 > 0:10:39and we just thought that maybe this was the time to consider adoption
0:10:39 > 0:10:42and then suddenly we were whisked up
0:10:42 > 0:10:46with the whole process of interviews and things like that.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51We talked about it and we decided we wanted to adopt
0:10:51 > 0:10:53a child with disabilities
0:10:53 > 0:10:56and the adoption agency were kind of like, "Are you sure?"
0:10:58 > 0:11:03That was increasingly then quite a strong desire with us to provide
0:11:03 > 0:11:07a home and a family for a child that would be considered hard to place.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Also, we felt that our children,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15they're all very caring and compassionate
0:11:15 > 0:11:18and when we talked to them about it,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20they kind of went with us on the journey.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25She was described as having a global developmental delay
0:11:25 > 0:11:26and I think that was shorthand for,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28"We know there are a range of difficulties,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30"but it's too early to describe them fully."
0:11:30 > 0:11:34- She was only 14 months when she came to us.- 14 months.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36She didn't walk till she was 23 months.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40She always presents about half the age that she is.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43She will always have a lifelong learning delay.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48Her arrival has helped my own journey with God,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51as well as, then, all that she's brought into our family life
0:11:51 > 0:11:55and just seeing our own children accommodating her needs
0:11:55 > 0:11:58as part of that growth journey for themselves.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Adoptive families are not allowed to change their child's first name,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05but they can choose a new middle name.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07The name Amelia chose, Hope,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09proved to be prophetic in many ways.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14I've always wanted a sister since I was four,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17so it came true when I was about ten, I think.
0:12:17 > 0:12:23I chose the middle name cos it was like my middle name, Joy.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Our hope was in God and hope that we were...
0:12:27 > 0:12:30And we were to look to him to take us where we needed to go
0:12:30 > 0:12:34and also because she was a child that perhaps wouldn't be adopted
0:12:34 > 0:12:39very easily, it was hope for her as well, hope for her future.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Sit. Sit.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45We call her our little blessing, because she has blessed us,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47she makes us laugh so much.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Can you get her to sit?
0:12:49 > 0:12:52- She isn't listening.- She always enjoys having people in the home.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57I still remember one day the postman came to the door with a parcel
0:12:57 > 0:12:59and she was trying to grab him by the hand
0:12:59 > 0:13:01and trying to get him in to play a game.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03He needed to go off and do his round.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06You know, things like that that are unexpected
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and little quirks sometimes of a child
0:13:09 > 0:13:11that doesn't have the normal social boundaries
0:13:11 > 0:13:13and in some ways she embodies that name,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16she has hope because of her father, God,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19and she is a bringer of hope to others as well
0:13:19 > 0:13:22and we hope in some ways that as people perhaps hear her story,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26again, that that might encourage them and bring hope to them too.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34# Every joy, every smile
0:13:34 > 0:13:38# Every dream, every child
0:13:38 > 0:13:42# Everything is a gift from you
0:13:45 > 0:13:48# All we see, all we know
0:13:48 > 0:13:52# All we have, all we hold
0:13:52 > 0:13:57# Everything is a gift from you
0:13:59 > 0:14:02# We are thankful
0:14:03 > 0:14:06# We are thankful to you
0:14:06 > 0:14:09# Our father
0:14:10 > 0:14:16# You are faithful in all that you do
0:14:21 > 0:14:26# Lord, you are gracious to us
0:14:28 > 0:14:34# Show me your love and your kindness
0:14:36 > 0:14:41# Lord, you are gracious to us
0:14:43 > 0:14:48# Show me your love and your kindness
0:14:49 > 0:14:52# We are thankful
0:14:53 > 0:14:57# We are thankful to you
0:14:57 > 0:14:59# Our father
0:15:00 > 0:15:04# You are faithful in all
0:15:04 > 0:15:07# We are thankful
0:15:08 > 0:15:11# We are thankful to you
0:15:11 > 0:15:14# Our father
0:15:15 > 0:15:20# You are faithful in all that you do. #
0:15:29 > 0:15:31It might still be ten weeks away, but as a vicar,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34I receive loads of cards through my door at Christmas
0:15:34 > 0:15:36and I'd be really thrilled to receive
0:15:36 > 0:15:40any one of these winning designs from our Christmas card competition.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43They're on sale now and I think they're brilliant.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46The proceeds go to Children in Need.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Visit our website...
0:15:51 > 0:15:53..to find out how to get yours.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Next up, a harvest hymn
0:15:55 > 0:15:58that celebrates the gifts of God's creation.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Land and sea not only provide a harvest -
0:18:49 > 0:18:51their beauty can bring inspiration too,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53as Claire McCollum has been finding out
0:18:53 > 0:18:55on the coastline of northern Scotland.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00Errollyn Wallen is an award-winning classical composer
0:19:00 > 0:19:02who was the first black female
0:19:02 > 0:19:04to have music performed at the BBC Proms,
0:19:04 > 0:19:09wrote songs for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games
0:19:09 > 0:19:12and has been awarded an MBE for services to music.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15She now spends most of her time here,
0:19:15 > 0:19:16at Strathy Lighthouse.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20I love looking out at the sea,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23the spectacular sort of living painting,
0:19:23 > 0:19:25and looking out at the raging waves
0:19:25 > 0:19:27reminds me how small I am in this world.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32What is it like, sitting here composing of an afternoon?
0:19:32 > 0:19:36It can be quite stressful, because you start with nothing
0:19:36 > 0:19:39and you've got to come up with ideas
0:19:39 > 0:19:42so I sit at the table and sometimes at the beginning of a work,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45I'm quite nervous, cos I actually don't know what will come out.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47But I trust that something will happen,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50but when you're sitting here, you're looking at the sea,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52you're looking at the waves, how they're changing.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Sometimes you're looking for whales or you're looking for seals
0:19:55 > 0:20:00and then you're looking at the sky and without realising it,
0:20:00 > 0:20:05slowly your thought processes go along with the movement of the sea,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07the motion of the clouds,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09the ever-changing landscape.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15You write something down and I might go and try it at the piano
0:20:15 > 0:20:19and then you start to accept that the process of composing
0:20:19 > 0:20:21is actually quite slow.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26When you do stop, you just look out,
0:20:26 > 0:20:28you're not hearing traffic,
0:20:28 > 0:20:33and you start to feel attuned to the rhythms, rhythms of our world.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40And how, would you say, have hymns inspired your work?
0:20:40 > 0:20:42I was brought up as a Methodist,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45but hymns for me at school were crucial, we sang hymns every day.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49Yeah, they're part of my musical make-up.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Tell me, Errollyn, what is it like composing sacred music?
0:20:54 > 0:20:58There's something amazing about sacred text,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01whether it's a psalm, whether it's the Bible.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04It's the thing I love most, which is that you, the composer,
0:21:04 > 0:21:08must disappear, that's why I love Bach so much.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Everything he did was in the service of trying to get to the truth,
0:21:11 > 0:21:14trying to get to what it is, God's message.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Your job is just to bring out the spirit of the text,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21so you feel so humble.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25So, tell me, what's next for you,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28writing in this spectacular location?
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Well, I'm working, as always, on several projects,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34but what I am also really, really keen to write
0:21:34 > 0:21:36is a mass for worship,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39and I think to be able to compose that here in these surroundings
0:21:39 > 0:21:41is going to be very special.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27'Harvest has giving at its heart and earlier I lent a hand
0:24:27 > 0:24:31'at London's famous Billingsgate Fish Market
0:24:31 > 0:24:35'to help collect fresh fish for a harvest festival of the sea...'
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Thank you so much!
0:24:37 > 0:24:39'..with the produce going to charity.'
0:24:41 > 0:24:45This historic service has taken place for almost a century
0:24:45 > 0:24:48at St Mary-at-Hill nestled in a City of London alleyway
0:24:48 > 0:24:52a stone's throw from the site of the original Billingsgate Market.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56The fish has made it to the church on time
0:24:56 > 0:25:00and this year, it falls to fish seller Bill Thornton and his friends
0:25:00 > 0:25:04to create a display that will keep this precious tradition alive.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08- How can I help, Bill?- If you can hand me that box of fish.- This one?
0:25:08 > 0:25:11If I can, I'll try and put it...
0:25:11 > 0:25:14The annual fish service has earned quite a name for itself
0:25:14 > 0:25:17and 200 special guests are expected.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20- It's the first one I've done. - Is this the first one you've done?
0:25:20 > 0:25:22- First one I've done. - Are you nervous?
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- I didn't sleep last night. - Oh, bless you!
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Amongst those who have a lifelong connection with Billingsgate
0:25:28 > 0:25:31and its traditions are retired porters
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Bill Hallett and Frank Davis.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Gentlemen, it's lovely to see you. I love your hats.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40It's a...
0:25:40 > 0:25:41I've used that all my...
0:25:41 > 0:25:44Carried fish on that all my life.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46It was all nutted in.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Every package had to be nutted in and nutted out.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52- "Nutted in" meaning carried on your head?- Yeah, yeah.- Amazing.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54- Is that why it's got a flat top? - Yeah.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59When you're carrying a box of fish all over the place...
0:25:59 > 0:26:03So how old were you when you started down at the old market?
0:26:03 > 0:26:06- 18, I think.- What does this mean to you, the Harvest Of The Sea?
0:26:06 > 0:26:07It means a lot.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10It means a lot, it's our tradition, it's our life, isn't it?
0:26:10 > 0:26:12It's our life.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14And you're giving praise to God, aren't you?
0:26:14 > 0:26:17You're giving praise to God for the bounty of the sea,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19that is everything.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Bill, you look exhausted!
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- Are you tired?- I am.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35It didn't seem like it was coming together, then all of a sudden,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37the last minute,
0:26:37 > 0:26:39it's just all come together.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42It looks absolutely amazing.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46And just in time, as dignitaries from the City of London arrive.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50We ask your blessing on this display of fish,
0:26:50 > 0:26:52the fruit of their labours,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56in the name of the Father and of the Son
0:26:56 > 0:26:58and of the Holy Spirit.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00- Amen. - ALL:- Amen.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Be pleased to receive into thy protection
0:27:08 > 0:27:12all those who go down to the sea in ships.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16So, Rose, what does harvest mean to you?
0:27:16 > 0:27:21Harvest is special, it is that time of the year when we take stock,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25we gather in, we look at what we have and then we say thank you.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29One of the dangers is, because we are a wealthy nation,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31we pat ourselves on the back and we think,
0:27:31 > 0:27:33"We're doing this by ourselves."
0:27:33 > 0:27:37What harvest does is it reminds us
0:27:37 > 0:27:41that is it is about God's generosity
0:27:41 > 0:27:44and because it is God's generosity,
0:27:44 > 0:27:49then we also give back, we share with what we have been given.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52With the service complete, it's time to give the fish away.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Most of it goes to the Seamen's Rest charity.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00So, tell me, what happens now to the fish that you've been given?
0:28:00 > 0:28:03We take it now back to the Seamen's Rest
0:28:03 > 0:28:06and we have 170 men living there
0:28:06 > 0:28:10and those 170 men will be eating fish probably for the next week.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12So it's a great feast?
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Yeah, it's a terrific feast for the men.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17These men have been at sea all their lives,
0:28:17 > 0:28:20therefore this is a great opportunity to give back
0:28:20 > 0:28:23to them and allow them to enjoy some of the labours
0:28:23 > 0:28:25of what they've done in the past.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29But the congregation don't miss out.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31They get their share too
0:28:31 > 0:28:33in exchange for a donation.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37This is part of the history of this church
0:28:37 > 0:28:41to have this service and I think long will it continue.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58Thanks to everyone for making me so welcome at the Harvest Of The Sea.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00Next week, Aled travels to South Wales
0:31:00 > 0:31:03to commemorate the 50th anniversary of one of the worst tragedies
0:31:03 > 0:31:06to strike that region, Aberfan.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09Until then, it's our final hymn. Thanks for watching.