Many thanks for your kind review. As I think you suspected , I did intentionally avoid putting any real drama into this story. I usually tend to the other extreme, so for me this was something of an excercise in restraint. I wanted to try taking a fairly sensationalist concept and underplaying it as much as possible. Of necessity this meant straying a fair distance away from both realism and the expectations of a reader. It's very difficult for me to know if I got this tone right, so your comments are very helpful.

The word 'gallybagger' (meaning scarecrow) and the habit of putting 'you' at the end of sentences come from the old dialect of the Isle of Wight. Outside of my father's company, though, you'll rarely hear these usages nowadays, so I think I'll excise them. They will probably confuse people more than add local colour.

I've noted your comment regarding the parson's attitude to Apple, and I'll try to adjust it to make this clearer.

Thanks again, and good luck with your own work.