communityFrom museums to banquets – a Mayoral quest takes shape

August 17, 2020by cider_adventurer26573
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My cider discovery – The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Hereford, Cllr. Kath Hey

Let’s start at the beginning… I was born in Hereford City in the 1970s. One of my earliest memories as a child was visiting the newly opened Museum of Cider. I vividly remember gazing upon the cider press and wondering what it was all about. Even then I had an inkling that this was an important part of the heritage of my home county. I would see endless apple orchards full of ripe, juicy fruit from the car window, and although I was blasé about that back then, I now know the significance of those sights..

Fast forward 30 years or so and I am in the privileged position of being the 638th Mayor of Hereford. The most memorable event for me last year was attending the Ciderlands Banquet at the Green Dragon Hotel in the heart of the City. There I met cider producers from around the world. I was absolutely captivated, learning about the process of taking apples and turning them into a magical product!

In the year since that happened I have made it my mission to discover everything there is to know about cider production in the county of Herefordshire.

I have visited Tom Oliver to taste his sublime ciders and perries. Every bottle crafted with love… Meeting Susanna and James at Little Pomona has been a revelation! These guys exemplify what it is to live and breathe your product. A visit to their cidery and orchard has been another recent highlight.

Through the power of social media I have entered a world of cider. A new friend made, Joe Emmett, is a singer/songwriter with a band called The Kilpecks. By pure coincidence Joe has just written a song about Cider. I will leave you with a small taste of that…

“…These new Dionysusian nights,

When the orchard, sits ready and ripe.

… For we’ll all soon stand with a cider in our hands…”

thanks to Joe Emmett 2020

Join Cllr Kath Hey on her mayoral duties via Facebook

Pictured above: The world of cider joins with Hereford to celebrate Ciderlands 2019 at The Green Dragon Hotel: Michael Stöckl, Frankfurt, Joxe Mari Alberro, Basque Country, The Mayor of Hereford, Cllr Kath Hey, Miguel Ángel Naredo, Asturias, and Haritz Rodriguez, Ciderlands HQ.

Photo: courtesy Bill Bradshaw

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