An Invitation from the Bramley Apple Competition Project Team

This is an invitation for all young writers and artists to take part in an exciting Anglo-Japanese creative project. We are offering you the opportunity to take part for free in a competition to celebrate the history and legacy of an apple. The Bramley Apple!

The best poems and illustrations will be showcased on the Japan400 Plymouth website. A range of exciting prizes are also up for grabs, including a one-night stay for two people at the fabulous De Vere Venues Orchard Hotel, home to the original orchard of the Bramley Apple.

The competition details are listed below, but if you have any questions, please write to: schoolexperience@plymouth.ac.uk

Wishing you well with your creative endeavours and the very best of luck!

Kind regards,

The Bramley Apple Competition Project Team

YOUNG ARTISTS’ & WRITERS’ COMPETITIONTHE BRAMLEY LEGACY IN PICTURES AND POETRY

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YOUNG ARTISTS’ & WRITERS’ COMPETITION

The Bramley Legacy in Pictures and Poetry

The Bramley apple is usually associated with cooking all sorts of delicious recipes. In the UK we make pies, cakes and crumbles with it and in Japan they also make sweets and a whole range of other mouth-watering treats.

The Bramley Apple Story

The story of the history of the apple starts with a young girl and a seed.Visit http://www.bramleyapples.co.uk/bramley-apples-history/ to find out more and to learn about the key figures: Mary Ann Brailsford, Matthew Bramley and Henry Merryweather.

How to enter

First, visit the Bramley Apple website (above) and learn about the Bramley Apple story.

Then, pick one event from the story and illustrate it, using any artistic style you wish …

OR

Write a poem about it. Your poem can be a haiku, or it could be a Limerick or free verse – the choice is yours! It can be written either in English or Japanese.

To submit your entry, send an electronic copy via email to schoolexperience@plymouth.ac.uk (if it is artwork it can be scanned-in and sent as an image file). Submissions will be judged by Mrs. Celia Steven, whose ancestors developed the first Bramley apples.

Closing date for entries:Friday 19 December 2014 (12.00 noon)

Results of the competition announced on:Tuesday 3 February 2015

This will coincide with Setsubun – further details overleaf

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The Legend of Setsubun

3 February is special in Japan because it is Setsubun. This day coincides with the last day of winter and the beginning of spring. It is thought that when the Japanese still followed the lunar (Chinese) calendar, Setsubun festivities ushered in the new year. Crucial to the occasion was the cleansing of one’s home of evil spirits. In the mame-maki (pronounced ‘mahmeh, mahkee’) ritual, family members throw beans (mame) out the door, and call out ‘oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi’ (Out demon, welcome to good luck!).

The Rules (Terms and Conditions)

1. This is a free competition for all young writers and artists aged 5 to 18.

2. The challenge is either to illustrate any event from the Bramley apple story or to write a poem (any form) about it.

3. You may only submit one poem or one illustration.

4. Poems must be no longer than 10 lines if written in English and if written in Japanese, must be no longer than 200 characters or 10 lines of genkō yōshi.

5. Illustrations must be scanned and attached as an electronic file to a covering email. The illustrations may be Manga style or traditional, colour or black and white, but they must be your own original art work.

6. Entries from children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an email from their teacher, parent, guardian or carer stating that they give permission for them to enter the competition.

7. The judges will be from the United Kingdom and Japan, including Mrs. Celia Steven.

8. You must include your name, age and the name of the school you are attending with your entry.

9. Details of entrants will not be kept on any form of database and will not be shared with any third party.

10. The copyright for all illustrations and poems will remain with the artist or author.

11. A full list of the prizes will be available by the 1st of December.

12. The closing date is 19th of December, 2014.

13. All prize winners will be announced to coincide with the ‘Setsubun Festival’ on February the 3rd 2015.

14. Email your entries to: schoolexperience@plymouth.ac.uk

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Who are the Bramley Apple Competition Team?

The seed of the Bramley Apple Competition was planted by two people committed to the educational development of youth in the South West: Celia Steven, the grand-daughter of Henry Merryweather who cultivated the first orchard of Bramley Apples, and Myfanwy Cook, a prize winning short fiction writer.

For more information on Myfanwy Cook, please visit her website: http://www.myfanwycook.com/.

For more information on Celia, please read her Biography below.

Biography

Celia Steven née. Merryweather

“ Not only is the Bramley a much loved British variety and a resounding

commercial success, it also represents a fundamental part of our social heritage and offers endless educational opportunities.

Strike up a conversation with Celia Steven and count the seconds before she brings up the subject of the Bramley apple. You won’t be counting for long; the Bramley is central to Celia’s life and is so close to her heart that you can easily imagine that its juice flows in her veins.

It was Celia’s great-grandfather, Henry Merryweather, who first cultivated Bramley apple trees commercially at his fathers nursery in Southwell, Nottinghamshire. One day in the year of 1856 Henry met a friend and admired the basket of fine apples he was carrying. Unable to recognise the variety he asked where they had come from and was immediately directed to the garden of a Mr Bramley in Easthorpe. Fifty years earlier the pips had been planted by a young lady gardener called Mary Ann Brailsford. Henry was permitted to take grafts and went on to produce the first of the Bramley Seedling.

Celia has always possessed a strong sense of her family heritage and was outraged when the future of Bramley apple was jeopardized upon Britain joining the Common Market in 1973. In order to be freely marketed all fruits had to be categorised and the Bramley, due to its uneven shape and large size, didn’t conform. Celia knew that no other European country produced a culinary apple of such quality and recognised that it presented British growers with an excellent opportunity to broaden their market. She mentioned a campaign to save her beloved Bramley and lobbied the government until the then Minister of Agriculture, Joseph Godber, gave his assurance that the Bramley would be given its rightful place in the European marketing system.

There’s no doubt in Celia’s mind that the Bramley is in a class of its own – its flavour and texture is unique and she loves its freshness and tangy taste. An excellent cook herself, such dishes as Bramley, leek and potato gratin and baked apple are often enjoyed at Celia’s own table.

Since that significant victory over 30 years ago, Celia has continued to devote herself to the business of safe-guarding and promoting our favourite cooking apple. As a staunch patriot she has used her on-going campaign as a platform for the wider promotion of home-grown British produce and for raising awareness of our threatened agricultural industry.

Celia became an elected member of the Southwell District and parish Council in the mid 70’s and concentrated her efforts on local tourism initiatives – always centring on the shiny, green, iconic apple.

Following in the family tradition in 1975, Celia established her own nursery at Brinkley Hill, specialising in unusual trees and shrubs. She hosted many visits from local clubs and societies which always included an animated talk on the Bramley.

Her extensive plant knowledge coupled with her passion and exuberance made for entertaining listening and it wasn’t long before she was being invited to speak at various events as well as conducting interviews with the regional media. During this period she also stewarded at the Chelsea Flower Show and also became involved with a number of community events such as the first National Bramley Apple Pie Competition and the ‘Bramley’ Awards – both organised by the then Bramley Information Bureau.

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Her steadfast campaigning took a corporate turn when she began approaching food manufacturing and retailers such as Marks and Spencer and Mr Kipling to encourage them to use the Bramley in their recipes and to promote the variety on their packaging. Once one company recognised the value of this others followed and the campaigns momentum continues to grow organically.

1998 saw Celia, mother of three and grandmother of six, move to South Devon – a region famous for its apple growers and cider presses. Within no time Celia had established an orchard educational project in her village of Buckland Monachorum in conjunction with the school children from St Andrew’s Primary School and an organisation called Groundwork on a piece of land kindly donated by a local farmer.

The now blossoming orchard had been a fantastic educational tool giving the children an opportunity to learn all about tree growing, grafting, pruning and harvesting along with learning about the associated wildlife and related activities such as cider making and bee keeping. The project has also been supported by local chefs and restaurateurs including Devon’s celebrity chef Peter Gorton who is the current Vice Chairman of the Master Chefs of Great Britain. In an era where young people are becoming alienated from the countryside it cultivates an understanding of nature and its beauty and the need to protect it. What’s more the orchard has become a centre for other community activities. This project has been one of Celia’s most rewarding and successful endeavours to date.

The original tree will bee 200 years old this year. Sometime ago Celia worked with Nottingham University to develop a cell extraction system. Whilst the tree is still healthy this system will enable it to be preserved for future generations.

For the 2009 Bramley bicentenary Celia is involved with a string of celebratory events including the unveiling of a Bramley stain glass window in Southwell Minster.

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