0:00:02 > 0:00:05Hello, this week I'm in Worcestershire,
0:00:05 > 0:00:07one of England's biggest food-growing areas,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10so what better place, then, to celebrate harvest
0:00:10 > 0:00:14than with some first-class hymns and some great food and drink?
0:00:14 > 0:00:15Cheers, John.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21This week, we get a taste of the good life...
0:00:22 > 0:00:25..watch as Pershore turns purple...
0:00:25 > 0:00:29and we've got music from the town's stunning abbey...
0:00:29 > 0:00:32and the Operababes.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45In our consumer society where every variety of food is available
0:00:45 > 0:00:47all year round regardless of season,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50it's easy to forget all the skill and effort
0:00:50 > 0:00:54that goes into stocking the shops and putting food on the table.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00And a huge variety of that food is produced here in Worcestershire.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04The county's mineral-rich flood plains of the River Severn and Avon
0:01:04 > 0:01:06make it the perfect location for growing
0:01:06 > 0:01:09a wonderful array of fruit and vegetables.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13From apples in the Teme Valley,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17asparagus in the Vale Of Evesham,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21and plums growing just up the River Avon in Pershore.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24And our hymns come from the town's stunning abbey
0:01:24 > 0:01:28where the congregation has been joined by choirs from the surrounding area.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32We begin with a 20th-century hymn that celebrates the circle of life
0:01:32 > 0:01:34and God's role within it,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36O Lord Of Every Shining Constellation.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Worcestershire vicar and allotment gardener Richard Etheridge
0:04:09 > 0:04:13has a keen interest in the history of harvest celebrations.
0:04:16 > 0:04:22Harvest festivals began with a Cornish vicar who got fed up
0:04:22 > 0:04:25with people getting drunk at the harvest supper...
0:04:25 > 0:04:27HE LAUGHS
0:04:27 > 0:04:30..and thought that there was something better to do,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and he thought the idea was to encourage people
0:04:34 > 0:04:38to bring a token of the harvest to church
0:04:38 > 0:04:40for a special thanksgiving service,
0:04:40 > 0:04:47and that idea then spread throughout the countryside and into the towns.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49It's a reminder to us
0:04:49 > 0:04:53of our dependence on the labours of other people
0:04:53 > 0:04:58and the good things that God has provided for the world to use.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04The harvest loaf was first mentioned in the Old Testament
0:05:04 > 0:05:07and was a way of thanking God for a successful harvest.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13It was the idea that they took the first few sheaves of wheat,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17made the flour, made the bread,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19as the very first of the crop.
0:05:21 > 0:05:27Fresh flour from the fresh wheat as an offering to God.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32So often the harvest loaf was in the shape of a wheat sheaf.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Sometimes it used to be shared out at the harvest supper
0:05:37 > 0:05:41as a token of the loaf that was broken and shared
0:05:41 > 0:05:46by Christ to feed the hungry.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Whatever we do, we're dependent on God,
0:05:51 > 0:05:56we're dependent on the gift of the weather,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59on the gift of life for the seed,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and the gift of life for ourselves.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02O-yay!
0:09:06 > 0:09:10Well, I've heard of painting the town red,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13- but here in Pershore....- O-yay! - I can't hear myself think!
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Here is Pershore they prefer the colour purple,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18and every summer they go plum crazy.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30You're the organiser of this event. Em, it's all a bit mad, isn't it?
0:09:30 > 0:09:32- Very mad, but isn't it wonderful? - It's fantastic.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36- So many people, it's really good. - Did you come up with the idea?
0:09:36 > 0:09:40No, the Pershore Plum Festival was founded about 15 years ago.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43There was a plum festival here over 90 years ago,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46and it was said that it was the greatest plum show on Earth,
0:09:46 > 0:09:52so almost 100 years later we're striving to recreate that spectacle.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56- Mr Sandon, what are you doing here? How are you?- Nice, big smile.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59- Two choirboys together.- Oh, yes!
0:09:59 > 0:10:01How important is it to Pershore, this event?
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Incredibly important!
0:10:03 > 0:10:06In fact, they've got special awards this year for the Plum Festival
0:10:06 > 0:10:10and the Pershore Plum itself is a wonderful thing
0:10:10 > 0:10:15and part of, I suppose, the well-being of the town is based upon plums,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17so it's marvellous.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20- So a big honour for you!- It's great. I love it, yes.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22I get free plums! THEY LAUGH
0:10:23 > 0:10:25We remember our wonderful times together.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Oh, plenty of wonderful times together!
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Two choirboys together, we usually burst into song, don't we?
0:10:31 > 0:10:32But not today.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34No, not...not singing. I'm not singing.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38# Plum, plum, plum Remember you're a plum... #
0:10:38 > 0:10:42I've just spied the smartest ladies in Pershore. Hello, how are you?
0:10:42 > 0:10:44I'm fine, thank you.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47I should be bowing in front of you, shouldn't I? You're...
0:10:47 > 0:10:51- What are you?- We're princesses.- And who are these two ladies with you?
0:10:51 > 0:10:52- The attendants.- Oh.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55What does it mean to you to be princess of this festival?
0:10:55 > 0:10:59- Em, it's really fun and I'm really enjoying it so far.- So far?
0:10:59 > 0:11:01What have you got to do in the future?
0:11:01 > 0:11:04You've got lots of exciting events, haven't you?
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Yeah, we're going to go to the races.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09We'll cut the ribbon around the plum tree.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11You'll cut the ribbon around the plum tree?
0:11:13 > 0:11:17I declare this tree planted.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:11:20 > 0:11:23If only we lived in a world where you could pay for your rent
0:11:23 > 0:11:26using fruit as currency. Just imagine!
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Well, that's exactly what happens here in Pershore.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31The town rent this land from Westminster Abbey
0:11:31 > 0:11:33and guess how much they pay for it.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35A pound of plums!
0:11:37 > 0:11:42Plums have been growing here for a couple of centuries,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45so plums are a sort of mascot for Pershore.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49There are three varieties of Pershore plum -
0:11:49 > 0:11:52the Yellow Egg plant, the Purple and the newest addition,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56the Pershore Emblem, the proud discovery of a local gardener.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04This is the original Emblem, which I planted here 30 years ago,
0:12:04 > 0:12:10and er, you can see that we've got quite a family of them here now.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16It's a good all-round plum, makes good jam, very dark jam,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and it freezes well and you can...
0:12:19 > 0:12:22It's like a dessert plum as well.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28So we've got the Purple Egg Plum on the top.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Oh! Delicious!
0:12:36 > 0:12:39As the organiser, do you get to travel around on this for the year?
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Not yet, but I'm hoping that this will be
0:12:41 > 0:12:44my mode of transport for the next four weeks.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Pretty impressive, isn't it? It runs on plum juice, you know.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49It does, yes! SHE LAUGHS
0:12:49 > 0:12:52She's got the regal wave going.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20It's hard for me to imagine that we can look at nature
0:15:20 > 0:15:23without thinking of God.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28I think, right through my life, I've been fascinated by growing things,
0:15:28 > 0:15:30whether it's a plant or an animal.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Trees are certainly important because of the shelter they give to crops.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38We're still learning about the relationship with many forms of wildlife,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40obviously birds and insects and so on,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43and there are many other things that people are discovering even now,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47where trees are interrelated with other forms of wildlife.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52They provide a lovely atmosphere.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55A lot of older people like myself
0:15:55 > 0:15:57associate Worcestershire with elm trees.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00It used to be referred to as "the Worcestershire weed",
0:16:00 > 0:16:03it was so common, but apart from that,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07it's a very, very beautiful tree - huge, billowing, cumulous,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11cloud-like branches everywhere and quite majestic.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15In the 1970s, the appearance of the landscape changed
0:16:15 > 0:16:19when millions of native elms were killed by Dutch elm disease.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28Dutch elm disease suddenly took off. It's been around for a long, long time,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31but it became rampant suddenly, maybe a different fungal strain,
0:16:31 > 0:16:36but it really took off then and the area around this area,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39it looked almost like a desert with dead elms in the summer, everywhere.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42It looked very, very bleak.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46Certainly consequences for many forms of wildlife,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50including some species of butterflies became rare or even extinct.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Although Dutch elm disease all but wiped out the native species,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58a chance discovery by Bob and his team provided a glimmer of hope.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Some years ago, we were travelling around the area
0:17:02 > 0:17:08and noticed a beautiful elm tree that was in full health.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10It was a bit strange because the whole area was
0:17:10 > 0:17:13at one time filled with elm trees and this was the only survivor.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17We took cuttings and we've been rooting these at the college.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22We've been busy propagating these now for some years.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Although it's still early days, Bob's hopeful the young elms will flourish
0:17:26 > 0:17:30and be reintroduced across the countryside.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35You never can be absolutely sure they're going to be completely immune
0:17:35 > 0:17:39or even resistant, but so far so good.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42The elms we've planted are really growing away now, quite well.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44I've got high hopes that there are
0:17:44 > 0:17:48quite a few elms now that are growing away very healthily.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50I've always been very conscious
0:17:50 > 0:17:54of the beauty of creation and God's goodness.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57It seems to me that every leaf and every blade of grass
0:17:57 > 0:18:00is an "I love you" from the Lord.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06For me, nature is one long, ongoing miracle.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10We shall never fully understand it, it's like opening a box
0:18:10 > 0:18:14and then we find the wonders of creation and there's a smaller box inside
0:18:14 > 0:18:18which we have to open, and again and again and again,
0:18:18 > 0:18:20so for me it's a never-ending wonder.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33# Let us wander not unseen
0:18:33 > 0:18:37# By the elms on hillocks green
0:18:37 > 0:18:41# While the ploughman near at hand
0:18:41 > 0:18:45# Whistles o'er the furrow'd land
0:18:45 > 0:18:50# And the milkmaid singeth blithe
0:18:50 > 0:18:53# And the mower whets his scythe
0:18:53 > 0:18:58# Singeth blithe, singeth blithe
0:18:58 > 0:19:00# Singeth blithe
0:19:00 > 0:19:04# And the milkmaid singeth blithe
0:19:04 > 0:19:08# Let us wander not unseen
0:19:08 > 0:19:12# By the elms on hillocks green
0:19:12 > 0:19:16# While the ploughman near at hand
0:19:16 > 0:19:20# Whistles o'er the furrow'd land
0:19:20 > 0:19:25# And the shepherd, and the shepherd
0:19:25 > 0:19:28# Tells his tale
0:19:28 > 0:19:31# Beneath the hawthorn in the dale
0:19:31 > 0:19:37# Beneath the hawthorn in the dale
0:19:37 > 0:19:41# Let us wander not unseen
0:19:41 > 0:19:46# By the elms on hillocks green
0:19:46 > 0:19:50# While the ploughman near at hand
0:19:50 > 0:19:54# Whistles o'er the furrow'd land
0:19:54 > 0:19:58# And the milkmaid singeth blithe
0:19:58 > 0:20:02# And the mower whets his scythe
0:20:02 > 0:20:07# Singeth blithe, singeth blithe
0:20:07 > 0:20:09# Singeth blithe
0:20:09 > 0:20:13# And the milkmaid singeth blithe
0:20:13 > 0:20:17# Let us wander not unseen
0:20:17 > 0:20:21# By the elms on hillocks green
0:20:21 > 0:20:25# While the ploughman near at hand
0:20:25 > 0:20:29# Whistles o'er the furrow'd land
0:20:29 > 0:20:34# And the shepherd, and the shepherd
0:20:34 > 0:20:37# Tells his tale
0:20:37 > 0:20:41# Beneath the hawthorn in the dale
0:20:41 > 0:20:46# Beneath the hawthorn in the dale
0:20:46 > 0:20:50# Let us wander not unseen
0:20:50 > 0:20:54# By the elms on hillocks green
0:20:54 > 0:20:58# While a ploughman near at hand
0:20:58 > 0:21:05# Whistles o'er the furrow'd land. #
0:21:07 > 0:21:09MUSIC: Theme From "The Good Life".
0:21:11 > 0:21:15We used to be quite normal once. We lived in Bewdley just down the way.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17We had fairly normal jobs.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19John worked for a solicitor's in Birmingham
0:21:19 > 0:21:22and I worked for the Forestry Commission,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24but an opportunity came up
0:21:24 > 0:21:27to move up to this farm and at first we thought,
0:21:27 > 0:21:29"No, silly idea," and then we thought,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33"Well, why not, you know? Opportunity of a lifetime, let's go for it!"
0:21:33 > 0:21:37John and Linda are sampling the good life on their farm,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41living in harmony with the natural environment.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44A lot of people say that we're well bonkers. We've taken on a lot here.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48It was very hard work for the first few years.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50We replaced all the fences around the farm
0:21:50 > 0:21:53so that we could get the cattle in and get them grazing.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58We wanted to farm it in an environmentally friendly way
0:21:58 > 0:22:02and we're not actually connected to the National Grid here,
0:22:02 > 0:22:06so we had ideas about using as much renewable energy as possible
0:22:06 > 0:22:10and heating the house with our own wood and all that sort of thing,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13and generally have a go at looking after the land.
0:22:13 > 0:22:19And also, it was very much about it being open for people to come and share that journey with us.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24So the folks here today are learning about pig-keeping.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28You know, it's just us sharing as far as we've got in our learning,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31and people have been keeping pigs for thousands of years,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34so it can't have been that difficult.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38You know, Stone Age man didn't have an NVQ in pig-keeping, you know, he just got on with it.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44We have other volunteers who are getting stuck into apple presses,
0:22:44 > 0:22:45learning those skills.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51We've had all sorts of people, some not as weird as us!
0:22:51 > 0:22:55You just pray that God sends people that are going to be useful
0:22:55 > 0:22:57and they turn up.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00You should get another flush of juice.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04I like to think that people are enjoying coming here,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07enjoying being reconnected with the land.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10And just having some fun realising the joy they can have
0:23:10 > 0:23:14in being in the natural environment and working in it.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17I can imagine, out here, seasons mean a lot more to you than to
0:23:17 > 0:23:22the person who just picks up their food from the supermarket shelf.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Yeah, the harvest is just an amazing time, and that sense,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30which I wasn't really fully aware of before we came here.
0:23:30 > 0:23:36I've had a niggling thing going on about the harvest festival we do in our own church,
0:23:36 > 0:23:37which was ending up as sort of
0:23:37 > 0:23:40tins of baked beans and packets of spaghetti.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43I'm thinking, "This isn't what harvest is about."
0:23:43 > 0:23:47Harvest is about real food and that real sense
0:23:47 > 0:23:51of overwhelming...joy that we've got food in the barn.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54If we've got the food in the barn,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56we'll be able to eat through the winter,
0:23:56 > 0:24:01and how, you know, 50-100 years ago, that sense within a community -
0:24:01 > 0:24:03that there was enough for us to get through the winter -
0:24:03 > 0:24:06would just be so overwhelming.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09No wonder you wanted to sing your praises to the Lord.
0:26:22 > 0:26:28Creator God, provider of all, we bring our thanks today.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31We bless each other that the beauty of this world
0:26:31 > 0:26:33and the love that created it...
0:26:33 > 0:26:38..Might be expressed through our lives and be a blessing to others,
0:26:38 > 0:26:40now and always.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41Amen.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
0:26:47 > 0:26:51be amongst you and remain with you always.
0:26:51 > 0:26:52ALL: Amen.
0:27:07 > 0:27:13# For the beauty of the Earth
0:27:13 > 0:27:18# For the beauty of the skies
0:27:18 > 0:27:25# For the love which from our birth
0:27:25 > 0:27:29# Over and around us lies
0:27:29 > 0:27:32# Over and around us lies
0:27:32 > 0:27:40# Lord of all, to thee we raise
0:27:40 > 0:27:46# This our joyful hymn of praise
0:27:51 > 0:27:58# For the beauty of each hour
0:27:58 > 0:28:03# Of the day and of the night
0:28:03 > 0:28:07# Hill and vale Hill and vale
0:28:07 > 0:28:11# And tree and flower And tree and flower
0:28:11 > 0:28:14# Sun and moon and stars of light
0:28:14 > 0:28:18# Sun and moon and stars of light
0:28:18 > 0:28:25# Lord of all, to thee we raise
0:28:25 > 0:28:33# This our joyful hymn of praise
0:28:38 > 0:28:45- # For the joy of human love - For the joy of love
0:28:45 > 0:28:50# Brother, sister, parent, child
0:28:50 > 0:28:54# Friends on Earth Friends on Earth
0:28:54 > 0:28:57# And friends above Friends above
0:28:57 > 0:29:01# For all gentle thoughts and mild
0:29:01 > 0:29:05# For all gentle thoughts and mild
0:29:05 > 0:29:13# Lord of all, to thee we raise
0:29:13 > 0:29:20# This our joyful hymn of praise
0:29:22 > 0:29:29# For each perfect gift of thine
0:29:29 > 0:29:34# To our race so freely given
0:29:34 > 0:29:42# Graces human and divine
0:29:42 > 0:29:46# Flowers of Earth and buds of heaven
0:29:46 > 0:29:49# Flowers of Earth and buds of heaven
0:29:49 > 0:29:56# Lord of all, to thee we raise
0:29:58 > 0:30:04# This our joyful hymn of praise
0:30:06 > 0:30:09# This our joyful hymn
0:30:09 > 0:30:14# Our hymn of praise. #
0:30:28 > 0:30:31With the harvest here safely gathered in for another year
0:30:31 > 0:30:36and the thankful relief that there'll be enough food to feed the animals through winter,
0:30:36 > 0:30:42our final hymn reminds us that even though the days fly by, God is always at our side.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27Next week, as the BBC marks the 10th anniversary of 9/11,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Sally Magnusson discovers how a new generation of young people
0:33:30 > 0:33:34are finding ways to build a more peaceful and tolerant world.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38And there are hymns and songs in harmony
0:33:38 > 0:33:40from Milton Keynes, London and Birmingham.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45And I hope you can be with us in London
0:33:45 > 0:33:48for our 50th birthday celebration at Alexandra Palace.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51We'll be singing some wonderful hymns, of course.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55And our special guests include the one and only Andrea Bocelli,
0:33:55 > 0:33:58gospel diva Beverley Knight,
0:33:58 > 0:34:01voice of an angel Katherine Jenkins
0:34:01 > 0:34:05and international country-music legend LeAnn Rimes.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07If you'd like to be part of the audience,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10tickets cost £12 each plus a charge of £1.50 per transaction.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14If you haven't got your ticket yet, here's the number to call.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26Standard geographic charges apply. Calls from mobiles may be higher.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28Or you can apply online.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33I can't wait. See you on the 25th.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:34:51 > 0:34:55E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk