South Oxfordshire
If you like your rice sticky and your curry jungly, don’t miss October’s food fest.
Of course not all Thai cuisine has to top the Scoville scale. It also boasts fragrant chicken dishes, tangy fish cakes and, um, fried fruit bat. There’s even a truly unapologetic snack called Phat si-io. Eat a couple of these and you’ll find out why.
Yvonne is kindly hosting at Manor Lawns on Friday 5th October at 11.30 am. As always enthusiasm is the only entry requirement!
Kieron
The time of the year already, when the leaves are falling, the days are shortening and the nights are getting colder, but Blewbury WI have some good events and outings in October and if anyone out there is thinking of joining us as new members, you will be made most welcome.
Tuesday, 2nd October at 9.00am – Lyn’s Walk. Meet at the Village Hall. Destination undecided but we will be walking from Blewbury. Bring bus passes and pennies for coffee. ( Note change of day and date.)
Friday, 5th October at 7.00pm – Craft evening at Liz’s. Please ring beforehand.
Monday, 8th October at 7.00pm – Scrabble at Judy’s. Please ring beforehand.
Wednesday, 10th October at 10.30am – Coffee at Style Acre.
Thursday, 11th October at 12.30pm – Lunch at Kingswell. Car rota being arranged.
Friday, 19th October at 1.30pm – Talking Science Lecture at RAL Harwell. “How the Universe will end.” Professor Brad Gibson.
Wednesday, 24th October at 7.30pm – WI monthly meeting in the Vale Room – Speaker, Cyril Mannion. “From Routine to Abnormal in the blink of an eye.”
For more details of any of our events, or if you wish to join us, please ring Karen on 850219 or visit our web page, http://blewburywi.wordpress.com where you will find more information.
Cilla.
The start of a new season for the Upton Wine Appreciation Club and proof that no matter how long you have been enjoying your wine, it’s never too late to remind yourself about which grape is your favourite!
For September we tried some single grape variety wines to remind all members of the wide variety of tastes and to give everyone a steer on which wines to select when next buying a bottle. It is more unusual to get a single grape of wine these days, more common is a blend however, the opportunity to pick up that single flavour as a base marker, really helps for perhaps more complex wines to come later in the year!
Following a routine AGM where last year’s committee and Chairman were elected back in for a further year we took a look at our first wine, a typical French Sauvignon Blanc. Like many grapes it depends on where it is grown and how it is made that influences the taste. Looking at the colour, smell and of course taste we judged this wine against other whites made from the Chardonnay and Riesling grape. For the reds we looked at Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah.
The beauty of a wine is that there are so many flavours which creates many opinions. All the wines tasted can be found on the Upton Wine Club’s website https://uptonwineclub.com/ . If you would like to try just two then we would recommend The Society’s Saar Riesling 2015 (£10.50), a classic taste for Riesling and something that would go well with any spicy dish due to it’s naturally low alcohol volume. For the red we recommend the Society’s Red Burgundy 2017 (£9.95). For a Pinot Noir, this is great value and will go well with a warming sausage casserole or some lamb! Both wines can be purchased from the Wine Society.
Next month we have invited Joie de Vin back to talk about some real gems from France that you will not find in any supermarket. These proved a real hit last year! If you would like to join the wine club or just come along and try it for an evening then please drop an email to our Chairman: ian.langley@yahoo.co.uk The October meeting is on the 17th between 8pm – 10pm, we hope to see you there!
Ian Langley (Chairman)
The most recent Upton Theatre Group outing found us at The Oxford Playhouse on 4th September enjoying a Trademark Touring and Watermill Theatre production of The Wipers Times. This is based on a true story set during WW1 and was written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman.
The Oxford Playhouse has seen a trendy makeover since my last visit some years ago and the auditorium is now a masterful palette of grey walls and multi-coloured comfortable chairs, a real bonus following a recent visit to the Adelphi Theatre in London in which you needed to be no more than 5’ tall to sit with any degree of comfort!
Fifteen years ago Ian Hislop came across The Wipers Times while working on a documentary for Radio 4. The story originated in the spring of 1916 when a group of Sherwood Foresters led by Captain Fred Roberts discovered a printing press in the bombed out ruins of Ypres, otherwise known to the Tommies as ‘Wipers’. Hence the satirical weekly publication was born. The dynamic stage setting seamlessly changed rapidly with some well rehearsed choreography by the cast to depict a variety of scenes from the trenches to French cafes. Although familiar with the story of WW1 I found myself surprised at the months our troops had spent in one place and could not imagine how desolate it would have felt living in a sea of mud and barbed wire with the unrelenting noise of warfare and rats devouring your food supplies. Captain Roberts and his Lieutenant Jack Pearson provided a very popular distraction in the form of a newspaper which celebrated the camaraderie of those whose existence relied on humour as a coping mechanism and as an antithesis to the ‘hate hymn’ which was sung incessantly by the Germans just a few yards away. A few of the cast members held dual roles and their energy and timing was engaging to watch from the outset, many of the satirical articles within the newspapers were directed at the perceived “safe” positions senior officers held during the war and their apparent total lack of empathy and compassion towards the soldiers on the front line. These senior officers appeared ignorant of the squalid, desperate conditions the troops were experiencing and together with the Temperance movement also objected strongly to the alcohol consumption on the front line which further illustrated their lack of understanding. Even after the war finished, those who hadn’t fought on the front line questioned the accuracy of the Wipers Times and almost dismissed it as a bit of trivia.
The play was certainly very humorous in places, although perhaps not as much as the marketing material led me to believe. I felt, however, huge gratitude that so many sons, brothers and husbands (many of whom did not return) found a shared camaraderie through The Wipers Times during a period in our history which we must never forget. It ran from 1916 until just after the end of the war and published 23 issues.
Jane Strange
Here we are again, back to routine. I hope everyone has enjoyed the lovely Summer weather and had super holidays. Autumn is just around the corner, but hopefully there will be some sunny days for us to enjoy the outdoors. We have our usual events in September, listed below, and we would love to welcome new members to join us.
For more details of any of our events, or if you wish to join us, please ring Karen on 850219 or visit our web page, http://blewburywi.wordpress.com where you will find more information.
It’s Bank Holiday Monday and we have just had some roast chicken with the obligatory potatoes and veg. We are not eating outside but the doors are still open as we try to hang on to the last few days of Summer! To help the chicken cook, I have opened a bottle of Verdejo from the Spanish region of Rueda and added a little. I am not sure if it is the right type of wine to cook chicken but everyone seems to be enjoying the food and it gives me a very tame excuse to have a glass whilst cooking!
I am the only one in my house who drinks wine, so often I need to justify “an occasion” to open a bottle. That is not a challenge, as I can find many an occasion. However, it has made me wonder “why wine?” For me, it is great that I can play around trying to match wine with the right food but even more than that, I find it nearly always enhances many a memorable occasion.
For example, at the Upton Picnic in the Park this year, I joined 120 other villagers and friends for a great evening. I will remember the welly whanging, egg throwing and pizza cooking for a long time but to help it along, I was introduced to a South African, Newton Johnson Southend Chardonnay, which for me, has been the outstanding wine of this Summer!
At a Summer BBQ earlier this year, by chance I bought “The Waxed Bat”, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Malbec blend from Argentina, mainly because I liked the name (marketing is far from dead!) I remember sitting in a hastily erected gazebo as the rain clouds threatened and being as shocked as my friend, whose glass I had just filled, at how exceptional it was! The “one night of rain” we had this Summer was less of an issue as we enjoyed this fine wine with our burgers.
Yes, wine is a very versatile commodity and has a little something for everyone. For those who want to explore the granular depths of what makes one wine “better” than another, those chasing the “perfect” wine to enhance a starter / main course / dessert or quite frankly for those (myself included) who just find it fun and a great aide-memoir to some great evenings!
The Upton Wine Appreciation Club starts it’s 14th season this year on the 19th September at the Upton Village Hall, where we will be tasting some classic single grape varieties and reminding ourselves which wine tastes best for us. If you are remotely interested in wine and would like to know a little bit more in a very relaxed friendly environment, then please come along and create some more enjoyable memories! No knowledge of wine necessary. You should have already received an application form but if not please email ian.langley@yahoo.co.uk (chairman).
Here’s to another memorable year!
Ian
(Chairman)
Bake Up – Moroccan edition
Our culinary odyssey continues on Friday August 3rd with a visit to North African shores. We’ll be trying to master the spices and marinades of Morocco – join us if you can at Old Stream Cottage on the Frog Alley section of Stream Road from 11.30am.
In June we tackled Portuguese cooking with impressive results: a sublime squid and chourico stew with cornbread, rich tomato-ey rice and tapas galore followed by a dreamy honey cake and rival almond tarts. It wouldn’t have been complete without a bottle of student’s favourite vinho verde. A big thankyou to Rob and Chris for providing a delightfully shady spot under the vine in their garden for the occasion.
Kieron
The 30th June was another glorious day in Upton. Finally Welly had been found and pointed around 130 Upton residents and their friends to the village park for a picnic! This was an opportunity for all villagers to come along and enjoy an afternoon of fun and games followed by some great food and entertainment. And you did not disappoint! There were several games of rounders with varying numbers playing, with almost everyone trying their hand at Welly Whanging! If there was a record for how far back you could throw the welly then we would have some serious contenders, as it was the winner was perhaps not surprisingly won by one of our countries leading Frisbee champions, Jamie Rabbetts with a winning throw of 25.9m. The egg throwing/catching competition was fiercely fought and no one could hide the joy on the faces of Ben Amos and Ray Troskie when they won with a distance of 23.5m.
With some amazing hard work from all the wine committee members and the film club organisers everyone then enjoyed an evening of music, socialising and some great BBQ chicken and pizza, during which there was the Upton home brew competition. With 12 entries it was close, but the overall winner was Sarah Sayers, who just pipped everyone with her damson gin, congratulations Sarah.
Picnic in the Park started as a small idea by the Upton Wine committee. If you enjoyed it and wanted to continue the party, then look out for an invitation to join the wine club this year or come along to the fete on the 1st September and join. Membership is £15 for the year. There are monthly wine tasting evenings held at the village hall. We will ask for a contribution of between £5-10 for the meetings you can attend, for which you will get to taste 8 different wines along with some fantastic food, a theme that we will be developing even further this year! If you want to join or have any questions then please look out for the application form or contact Ian Langley at: ian.langley@yahoo.co.uk. More information can also be found on our website at https://uptonwineclub.com/
Hope to see you all on the 19th September for our first meeting of the season.
Ian
A couple of important dates for your diary.
Saturday 7th July – VPA Summer Show. Have you collected a copy of the schedule?? If you haven’t entered before, have a look – there is a great variety of categories – fruit, vegetables, flowers, handicraft, cookery, photography. Why not give it a go – you could be a winner!! There are a few schedules left in the Blewbury post office or you can get it online by emailing Eileen on vpa.in.bl.up@gmail.com or by ringing Margaret in Upton on 01235 850126.
Saturday 11th August – Day trip to the Royal Horticultural Society Gardens at Wisley.
Wisley was founded by businessman and RHS member George Ferguson Wilson who purchased a 60 acre site in 1878. Wisley is now a large and diverse garden covering 240 acres. In addition to numerous formal and informal decorative gardens, several glasshouses and an extensive arboretum, it includes small scale “model gardens” which are intended to show visitors what they can achieve in their own gardens, and a trials field where new cultivars are assessed.
If you are interested, the cost is £20 per person (includes entry and transport!). Book at Blewbury Post Office or for Upton residents, contact Maggie Maytham on 850126, as soon as possible.
Did You Know? Oaks are among the slowest growing trees and usually don’t produce acorns until they are about twenty years old. Mulberry trees have been known to live for up to 600 years. Syon House in Brentford holds the two known oldest Mulberry trees in Britain today, both planted in 1548. Built for survival, if they are blown over in a storm they soon grow back again by raising themselves up on their branches.
Happy Gardening Eileen
I hope you are enjoying the lovely summer weather and, maybe looking forward to happy holidays. Following is a list of our Blewbury WI events being held during July, we would love to welcome some new members to join us.
Tuesday, 3rd July at 9.15am. – Lyn’s Walk. Meet at Blewbury Village Hall before going on for a circular walk from Aston Recreation Ground. Some may have done part of this walk before, it is a little longer than previous walks but it is flat. Regretfully there is no coffee shop en-route. Hope to see you all whether you are WI members or not.
Tuesday, 3rd July at 7.30 pm. – Scrabble at Rosemary’s. Please ring first.
Friday, 6th July at 7.00pm. – Craft evening at Liz’s. Please ring first.
Monday, 9th July at 10.30am. – Coffee at Style Acre with Karen.
Wednesday, 25th July 2.00pm to 5.00pm. – Visit to Ashdown House, Lambourn. Car rota will be arranged.
Wednesday, 25th July at 7.30pm. – WI monthly meeting in the Village Hall. Speaker, Sue Drage. “Recycling with a Difference”
For more details of any of our events, or if you wish to join us, please ring Karen on 850219 or visit our web page, http://blewburywi.wordpress.com where you will find more information.
Cilla.