Dear Member,
We are trying to reach as many of you, our members, as possible so we are sending out another what we hope will be a “newsy” letter.
We hope you, your family and friends are keeping well in these troubled times. It is with some hope that some shops will be open soon but only if it is safe to do so, I think those of us with any grain of common sense will appreciate what a difficult decision this must be, all we have to worry about when we wake up each morning is what we will do during that day not life and death decisions that are being made by the government and the medical profession.
We did however send a card to Captain Tom, (now Sir and an Honorary Colonel) for his 100th birthday on your behalf which was one decision that was easy to make.
So what are you up to? I hope you send in some items for News & Views when we start back but in the meantime here is what the Vice-Chairs have been doing during lockdown
Linda Starkey: “When lockdown began I was looking forward to spending some time away in my caravan and planning a tour of Scotland, so, in reality what have I been up too!
The garden is starting to look beautiful after a lot of work as it’s not been a priority till now and all the late spring flowers are blooming at their best with the wonderful weather we have been having. I have started to fill the hanging baskets of which I have seven and the front window box is filling out nicely, and because of not being able to get online deliveries we decided to grow our own veg giving large numbers of little plants away as my husband sowed full packets of hundreds of seeds.
In North Warwickshire we have a competition called the Craft Cup which is held in October and this year’s theme is Wales, without giving too much away I have been crafting items for this competition to be voted at local club level before the main competition. As a crafter I always have many items on the go at once so apart from that I’ve been cross stitching, knitting, making face masks for a local care company that my daughter-in-law works for and sewing hessian bunting for a July wedding”.
Jean Whiting: “Apart from having a good sort out in the house, everything that can be washed or cleaned, has been. The garden is reasonably tidy, thank goodness it’s only a small one as it has been too hot for me to do gardening. I have knitted a couple of tiny hats and a little cardigan for the hospital. The only other thing I have done, like some of us, has put on a few pounds”
Maureen Harwood: “I have finished a jumper I was knitting, but this is waiting to be sewn up. Gardening, baking and deep cleaning never realised my house was so dirty trying to exercise but must admit not great at this and sorting out photos. Why did we keep so many with heads chopped off and out of focus going to put some names to the photos because when the time comes no-one will have a clue who they are”!
Joan Bramley-Lockdown: “I’m going to start a petition to get that word removed from the English dictionary and wonder if in many, many, years’ time this period of upset will be on the school curriculum along with Henry VIII and WWII. Until there is a definite period of time to report I am stuck here, on my own, talking to the tele and talking to friends and family on the phone but I consider myself lucky; I have a garden to look out onto also to go out on to and sit in the sun and let’s face it the weather, on the whole, has been kind to us. I had to admit that I was over 70 so my sister, who is 10 years younger than me decided to make sure I stayed behind closed doors and I think that if she could have got her hands on a tag for my ankle she would have ‘wired me up’ to surveillance.
I admit it is nice being looked after and having the shopping done but wonder if she thinks I run a B&B because she turns up with lots more shopping than I requested. I’m not complaining as the extras are to my taste, but I have to pay for them – they are not treats, but the afternoon tea my niece, (my sister’s youngest), sent the other day was brilliant and a lovely bit of decadence, so it shows that businesses are diversifying to make our lives tolerable because this is not what we are used to. Fortunately, we are not on food rationing even though in March when everyone, not me, was buying provisions for a siege there was rationing of how many items could be bought. My thoughts are very often with those who are not as fortunate as me and hope they have the strength to come through this difficult time”.
Next month we will find out what Chris, Mary, Pat and Janice have been doing?
Just a reminder we are still accepting entries for the literary competition “If I could have a gap year now what would I do?” You could let your imagination run wild. Just send them into the office, competition will now close end of September.
Answers to last month’s quiz
1 What is the proper name for the big toe? HALLUX
2 what type of bird is a macaroni? PENGUIN
3 In English what colour is the French “Jaune”? YELLOW
4 What is Rodney’s (only fools and horses) middle name? CHARLTON
5 If a ladies dress or top is described as “décolleté ” what does it mean? A LOW CUT NECKLINE
6 What is the name of the device which cards are dealt from in a casino? SHOE
7 William Wilberforce played a major part in the abolition of what? SLAVE TRADE
8 What do the initials BAFTA stand for? BRITISH ACADEMY OF FILM & TELEVISION ARTS
9 What unit of measurement is equal to 1 minute of latitude at sea level NAUTICAL MILE
10 What racquet sport is played on a court 20ft by 44ft BADMINTON
Well done to those who got 10 out of 10
A quiz for June
Q. Which River is the nearest to Balmoral Castle?
Q. What is the pericarp of an orange?
Q. What is the name given to the moon that follows the Harvest Moon?
Q. Paul McCartney always used his middle name, what was his first name?
Q. If you bought Le Figaro in France, what would you have bought?
Q. What colour was the 1d stamp that came out after the 1d black?
Q. The Queen has four corgis. A dorgi is a cross between a corgi and which other dog?
Q. Which food was not rationed during World War 2 was rationed after?
Q. In which decade did the compulsory driving test begin in UK?
Q. What is called Ajo in Spain and Ail in France?
And now for another of Claire’s delicious recipes
Sea Bass with Lemon Butter – Serves 2, but if cooking for more just double up.
In a roasting tray, chop 1 red onion, 2 bell peppers, (I usually do orange, yellow or red colour, not green), slice 1 courgette, and add a handful of cherry tomatoes. Drizzle some olive oil over the top, and roast for 30-35 minutes at 180 degrees in the oven.
Then whilst that’s cooking in the oven, wash and boil some new potatoes, amount to your liking, I cut them in half to speed up boiling time. Once they are cooked, drain, and add a knob of butter, then with the back of a fork, crush them a bit, and you can add salt & pepper here also if you wish. Put some cling film or foil over to keep warm.
By now you should have around 10 mins left until the veg is ready, so in a pan heat some olive oil, not too much just enough for the fish not to stick, then once the pan is very hot add 2 sea bass fillets, cook for only 5 minutes skin side down, if the pan is sizzling they won’t take long, then flip over for just 1 minute on the other side. Then remove to a side plate. With some kitchen roll paper and using the spatula so not to burn yourself, swirl it around to remove most of the cooking oil and throw that away, then add a large knob of butter back in the pan, and put it on a very low heat, leave the butter to melt, small bubbles will start to appear, and you want it to turn a light golden brown colour and will start to smell a nutty flavour. At that point turn off the heat, and add the juice of a one fresh lemon, & swirl around to mix. That’s it, and then serve the potatoes and veg with the fish fillet on top, and pour the lemon butter over the top, you can also serve with a wedge of lemon if you wish. Delicious, and worth the effort. I hope you give it a try, best wishes Claire x
So that is all for now keep up to date with our website and Facebook and hopefully we will be able to meet again soon
Chris and the Committee
