The Yes Peas! campaign ratcheted up its public profile a notch with a public parade through the Lord Mayor’s Show last Saturday.
A harvester loaned by Fen Peas was sponsored by the Yes Pes! campaign, co-ordinated by the Louth-based Processed Vegetable Growers' Association, as the parade wound its way through London.
Walking in front of the harvester were The Master of the Worshipful Company of Farmers, Jeremy Courtney; the Senior Warden, Follett Balch; the Junior Warden, Peter Faulkner; and Liveryman & Member of Court, Lindsay Hargreaves.
The machine represented not only the frozen pea industry but also the Worshipful Company of Farmers, in a three-mile long procession that has nearly 800 years of history behind it, as the 682nd Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Nick Anstee, took office.
Watched along the streets of the city by an audience of hundreds of thousands of people and on television, the harvester attracted huge amounts of attention, and was singled out by BBC presenter Clare Balding for special comment.
The machine was sporting the key messages of the Yes Peas! campaign - that frozen peas are fresher than fresh and that the best peas are frozen within 150 minutes of being picked - as well as explaining the work of the pea harvester.
The massive machine had set off from PMC Harvester in Fakenham on Thursday, and made its stately way over 100 miles to the City of London to take part in the parade. The children of All Saints Church of England Primary School, Stibbard, Fakenham, waved it off.
Stephen Francis of Fen Peas said: “What a truly memorable occasion. It was just incredible how well we were received - we were proud to be able to drive the harvester around the City of London and even executed a perfect three-point turn in the shadow of St Paul's!”
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