November 2008 News and Views
News & Members' Contributions from Countryside Connection Village
The response has been so wonderful since I began sharing excerpts from our members' monthly newsletters! After enjoying this month's issue, you will be able to read all of the February 2008 News and Views as well as March 2008 News and Views April 2008 News and Views May 2008 News and Views June 2008 News and Views July 2008 News and Views August 2008 News and Views September 2008 News and Views and October 2008 News and Views you might have missed by accessing the individual links. I will continue to provide access to all future issues in the same way so that you will not miss any of the news from our village. To enable you to enjoy past news and members' contributions from our Countryside Connection Village please simply click on the link to the appropriate month each time you visit our site.
Please Note : As one of our members, Artist Linda Leonard Hughes from Maine advised in our February issue, you will be wise to prepare a pot of your favourite brew before beginning so that you can sit back, relax and enjoy all of the exciting news as well as the latest adventures and offerings our members have shared.
I hope you will enjoy the excerpts from our Members' Newsletter. If you have a small business in Britain or America that you would like to see featured on our site and enjoy the full benefits of membership in our unique networking community, please send me an email and I will be delighted to make contact with you and answer all of your questions. Send your request to enquiries@countrysideconnection.com ~ I look forward to hearing from you, Heléne
Dear Visitors to Countryside Connection Village,
The month of November has arrived, bringing with it different feelings and needs for each of us. For many members it provides a brief respite in which to catch their breath after the exhausting months of entertaining and serving summer and autumn visitors before the winter season begins another welcome round; for others with winter already showing signs of an early arrival, there are preparations that cannot wait a moment longer. Autumn leaves are one of my greatest joys but definitely provide a lot of work for gardeners and so many others. The scarecrow below reminded me of a wonderful character in our local village in Hampshire many years ago. He was called Richard and was a part-time poacher and general ‘handyman in a fairly basic fashion’. Richard kept a few sheep and when asked what he did always responded ‘Oh, A bit of this, and a bit of that’. One day he came into the local wearing a new jacket. Someone asked him when he had bought it and he replied that he had taken a shortcut across the field and noticed that the scarecrow’s jacket was in far better condition than his so he swapped it. We later discovered that he had been able to put rather more than ‘a little bit of this, a little bit of that’ into the bank and upon his death left a large legacy to his heirs. He could certainly have afforded a jacket without having to ‘rob’ a scarecrow. For an illiterate man, he was always able to spot an opportunity and profit by it in his own small way.
Recent months have brought to mind a lesson learned many years ago from another wise and worldly person: every season brings its own benefits and problems and has been an important part of our calendar for thousands of years. Maybe all those people in the mists of time knew what they were doing and heeded the land.
I have received so many emails from members sharing personal difficulties and concerns and we all know that they are not alone. Unlike our usual wealth of emails shared each month, the majority of these either clearly stated they were being shared in confidence, or to me, as I read between the lines, I believe that is how it should be. I am truly grateful to everyone who chooses to share what is going on in their lives and it reinforces why we are all so crucially important to one another and as a community. The joy I feel in hearing or reading your statements about how much your membership in Countryside Connection means to you cannot be overstated. I know that together we will weather the storms and ensure that we help one another whenever possible.
The first email of the month to be shared with you came in just shortly after our October Newsletter began arriving in your Inbox and reinforced the last statement so strongly and clearly ~ this is the email received from one of our original members and a man who always takes time to contribute information to benefit other members, Richard Harbord of Daisy and Co.www.daisyandco.co.uk
Dear Heléne,
I quickly scanned the October newsletter as pressure of work is as normal (high!) and became so engrossed with all the ghost stories that I was half way through the pumpkin recipe before I realised it wasn't another ghost story!
Please forward this to Sandra Morton with my sympathies for her loss of her sheep. As you know, we recently had to sell our cows and so can have some understanding of how she is feeling. Also, the loss of a new-born, be it foal or calf is always a depressing thing. However, one tip we learned from an old Welsh farmer - (too late to save her lovely little foal I know, but maybe if there is a next time...) Poking a piece of straw up the calf's/foal's nostril will most times cause an involuntary sneeze which triggers breathing. We have saved a few of our calves that way.
Sorry not to have more input ... the grindstone calleth!
Richard
Moments later, whilst reading Richard’s email and feeling so pleased to be able to pass along such vital information to Sandra Morton of ‘Perilla’ www.perilla.co.uk another, in a long series of exchanges in efforts to assist member, Tim Finney of Helen Browning Organics www.helenbrowningorganics.co.uk arrived:
Thank you for this, and it would suit perfectly
Best wishes for all that you do for all of us!
TF
As I continued to send out small groups of our newsletter to ensure that everyone received them safely, emails continued to arrived from those who picked them up immediately upon arrival in their Inbox. The next one was from one of many members who are currently coping with new and chronic health issues (you will remember from her numerous wonderful contributions in recent months that Jackie is still in a wheelchair following a fall in which she broke her hip) Jackie Miller of Colliers Hill Guest House and Conference Centre www.colliershill.co.uk wrote:
Heléne
Thanks for your thoughts I will let you know how I get on with my consultant. I'm feeling positive, particularly after reading your newsletter, so many interesting and inspiring stories. How right you are we are never alone if we take the time a trouble to connect. To hell with the gloom and doom of the international money markets, Countryside Connection rocks!
Speak soon.
Bestest Regards Jackie.
Their messages made the ‘gloom and doom’ we are all hearing and enduring so much less overwhelming and I hope that these few selections (thank you to ALL who continue to share the same wonderful thoughts!) will help remind all members that we are in this together and by supporting and assisting one another we will all continue to thrive and prosper!
As I write this, I have just had two additional email updates from Jackie as she prepares for the November 1st wedding of her son. She writes that she has ‘an extremely swollen knee’ as she readies herself for the journey to Rye ~ cannot imagine why, perhaps it is the fact that she has just completed baking 80 heart-shaped brownies to take to the wedding and then sent another with a wealth of information and helpful hints just before leaving home!
Heléne I'm just about to leave for the wedding so brief note re: Special Offers for Countryside Connection Members. . . Free Fireside Supper for Two or More Guests Staying for Two nights, weekends included from December to end of February. Excluding Christmas and New Year. See website for Christmas Offers.
I've attached my Christmas Plan so far and can add the rest for the December Issue - Doctor as you like.******Perhaps we could ask members to give their favourite Christmas recipes for December Newsletter.
Well with Christmas looming on the horizon and me still being wheelchair bound and not able to return to work until January I have come to the conclusion that it’s home-made or nothing this festive season.
I’ve got the ideas skills and creative energy to produce wonderful gifts for friends family and guests without leaving my wonderfully warm and comfortable farmhouse kitchen.
I have now mastered the complications of on-line shopping at my favourite store, Waitrose, who will be delivering the first batch of supplies in a few days. Why oh why didn’t think of it before. Delivery is only £5 for orders over £50 and it certainly beats driving the 16 miles to the nearest supermarket both in terms of value for money and stress.
I have organised the local farm shop to deliver and my lovely butcher and fishmonger are only a phone call away. The thrill of not having to enter a store playing terrible Christmas jingles in October fills me with enthusiasm about the task in hand. The Colliers Hill Christmas Grotto is ready to rock and roll…or is it around the Christmas tree?
There are 12 glorious weeks, as I write this article, to plan produce and provide my personalized gifts.
Week 1: I’m going to make the Christmas Puddings and cakes to give them time to mature. Puddings of all shapes and sizes will be tied up with muslin and steamed for hours, after they have been stirred, by one and all, whilst making a wish. My children who will not be home for this time honoured festive tradition, will do theirs on conference call. Modern technology does have its uses. They are only allowed to make the wish if they don their Christmas aprons, home-made by Mother of course, even if they are sitting at their office desk.
Week 2: This year I’m going to add individual Christmas cakes made in gold and silver muffin cases and decorated with glazed fruits to create a jewel like quality to the gifts. Idea taken from Nigella Lawson in her inspiring Feast cookbook. The traditional larger cakes will be stored in air tight tins and doused liberally with brandy or rum for the next few weeks.
Week 3: I have a motley collection of jars and bottles just perfect for my preserves pickles and chutneys which will be given individually or as part of a hamper for my gourmet gifts. Cleaned and sterilized and wearing jolly Christmas hats made from seasonal fabrics I feel very excited about filling my kitchen with the aroma of spices and pickles whilst preserving local apples pears and shallots.
Pickled Shallots in Sherry Vinegar:
I will start with the elegant shallot, pink ones if I can source them from my local farm shop pickled in sherry vinegar. It is somewhat a labour of love, the peeling anyway, but the reward is in the subtlety of the flavour and the rate at which they are devoured by everyone on Christmas Eve when I serve them with freshly baked sausage rolls.
Ingredients:
For 1 litre preserving jar ( double or treble as required )
1lb. Pink shallots peeled
1tsp. Mixed pepper corns
1pt. Water
2 ozs.Sea Salt
4 fl.ozs Sherry Vinegar
10 fl.ozs White Wine Vinegar.
Peel the shallots place in large bowl and cover with water and salt mixed together cover with cloth and leave for two days. When you decide to start the pickling process bring the vinegars and peppercorns to simmering point in saucepan and allow to get cold. Drain the shallots in a colander and pat dry with kitchen paper. Pile into your chosen sterilised jars and pour over the vinegars and pepper corns. Seal tightly and leave in cool place for at least a month. Try to keep some for yourself. Next year you will probably have to make double the quantity as your friends will be begging for another jar.
Spiced Apricot and Orange Chutney:
Delicious served with cold meats and cheeses on Boxing Day
Ingredients: For 1 litre preserving jar (double or treble as required)
14 oz. non-soak dried apricots
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
8 oz. soft light brown sugar
3 ozs. Sultanas
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh root ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 level tbs. salt
Cayenne pepper to taste (small teaspoon)
Grated zest and juice of 1 small orange
15 floz. Cider vinegar
1 medium onion chopped
Chop apricots into smallish chunks rinse under cold water in a sieve and put in large saucepan. Heat the coriander seeds in small pan to bring out flavour then crush them with a pestle and mortar and then add to the apricots. Add remaining ingredients heat gently until all the sugar crystals have dissolved. Bring to simmering point cover and cook for approx. 45mins to 1 hour. The onion and apricot need to be soft and tender but if you overcook the chutney will be too thick. Spoon into warmed sterilised jars. It does continue to thicken while it is cooling down. Keep for at least a month before eating.
Artist, Linda Leonard Hughes, in Maine, www.lindaleonardhughes.com has many talents but I doubt she credits being psychic as one of them (although with everything else she is capable of I would not be surprised if she was aware of it – the incredible multi-dimensional talents of our members continue to delight, but have long ceased to surprise me!)
Linda has just sent a very timely recipe with the holidays just around the corner, but this one will, I know, have special interest for Jackie as it will arrive just after she has returned from the above mentioned wedding and she is someone who will always find a new challenge exciting! With her injuries not stopping her from indulging in her love of baking and entertaining, I feel certain this is yet another recipe she will delight in trying as soon as possible and know that she will not be the only one.
Thank you both for the brilliant contributions! I hope we will have a wonderful response to Jackie's request for your favourite recipes and please do not forget your Special Offers.
Dear Heléne,
I have enjoyed your letter so very much! Thank You for taking the time to tell me about what is new and our mutual problems! You are such a dear friend and I will look forward to the day when we finally meet! I have been saying I would send you that recipe for the last two months and I am finally going to get it to you tonight. You know how I like to give you a WOW of a recipe! Well, here it is:
Betty Allen's Wedding Cake
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 pound butter, softened
Rum – add some to egg and softened butter mixture
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder, rounded
3/4 cup rum – **Soak fruit below in this additional amount of rum before adding to flour and other ingredients
1 pound currants
2 pounds raisins
1/2 pound walnuts
1/2 pound citron
1 teaspoon each cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
Method:
Mix together in usual fashion. ****Note: Linda divides her batter into three graduated size pans; one large baking pan, one slightly smaller and one small to produce a three-tiered cake.
Bake in a slow oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 21/2 hours.
“Thought you might like to know the cake is one of the best cakes you will ever have! I made it for a meeting with our historical group! Betty Allen's husband fought in the French and Indian war. She was a Real Daughter of The American Revolution! Betty once made a quote that I would like to share with you "Truly, to live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die" Betty Allen’s spirit is still marching on down through the ages! As you know my father’s side of the family came over on the Mayflower and mother’s side came over just before the Civil War. I have love for my Great Country and yours as well! God Bless Them Both! PS Try the cake, believe me it is worth the work and makes the most elegant holiday cake! I make it with a boiled white frosting and decorate it with roses!”
P.S. Note: Linda stresses NOT to forget the roses or the Rum for the perfect cake!
Warmest Wishes to My Friend, Linda Leonard Hughes
Restorative Spa, Healing & Spiritual Offering
At Tordown Bed and Breakfast in Glastonbury, www.tordown.com Cheryl and Michael offer something so many of us seek but fail to find. Their own words express it best:
Welcome!
As the timeless mists of Avalon roll away discover the tranquillity of Tordown. We invite you to stay for a comfortable, peaceful and spiritual bed & breakfast break in our Victorian house on the slopes of the magical Glastonbury Tor. There are wonderful views over the Somerset Levels giving a feeling of relaxation and tranquillity from the moment you arrive.
As well as Bed & Breakfast, we offer many forms of healing from Reiki to Hydrotherapy Spa treatments. Please visit the healing pages to see what we offer. With our mini Spa, hand tailored healing breaks can always be created to suit your needs.
Living in harmony with the world is an important part of our life and your stay with us. We abide by green, environmentally sound principles. We use organic vegetarian local and fair-trade sources whenever possible.
Visit our expanded category: Wedding, Conference, Spa and Retreat Venuesand see their latest listing (they have, from the beginning of our online community, been one of the popular listings featured in our Bed and Breakfast Category)
On their healing links, you will discover that both Cheryl and Michael are Reiki Masters.
Other offerings include: Heart and Soul Healing, Ear Coning/Candling and Flower of Life. Please contact Cheryl and Michael directly and they will be pleased to guide you through with the following important statement: Please note that we are not doctors and therefore you should not ignore the recommendations of your medical doctor.
Free Hydrotherapy Spa Bath!
A luxury hydrotherapy spa is available for a course of treatments or just for relaxation. Mention that you saw their website and receipt a free hydrotherapy spa bath during your first visit.
The Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving image below is as familiar to every American as family photographs. In a wonderful article in 2006, writer Linda Rosenkrantz, explained the history and why this is true. Her words have some important reminders for all of us. A visit to the NormanRockwellMuseumin Rutland, Vermontis a great joy; view many of his important images on: www.http://www.normanrockwellvt.com/FramedPrints.htm
Like a "Hallmark" Christmas, a "Norman Rockwell" Thanksgiving conjures up images of family togetherness, peace and plenty. The scene drawn by America's leading commercial artist to illustrate one of President Roosevelt's Four Freedoms, "Freedom from Want" depicted an older couple placing a fat turkey on a table surrounded by their eager, smiling family.
Painted in 1943 in the throes of World War II, it presented an idyllic image of the kind of unity and abundance projected for the post-war future - an image that would endure and be reproduced endlessly.
Norman Rockwell was born in New Yorkon Feb. 3, 1894, studying in that city's ChaseArtSchool, the National Academy of Design and the Arts Students League. Firmly focused on an art career from a young age, he began having drawings published in Boys' Life magazine while he was still a student, and soon became art director of that publication.
At the time, getting a cover on the Saturday Evening Post was the aspiration of every commercial artist, and Rockwell was no exception. His goal was achieved in 1916 when he went to Philadelphia to show his work to the editor, who immediately accepted two covers and commissioned an additional three, thus initiating a relationship that was to last almost a half-century, ending in 1963, when the Post stopped using paintings on its covers.
Rockwell's enormous appeal derives from his enormous technical skill - his original canvases are being increasingly appreciated, with prices rising accordingly - but also from his warm, highly detailed depictions of 50 years of American life, both the milestones and the mundane, ranging from a 1918 depiction of a mother holding back tears as her son gets his first barbershop haircut, to a famous 1945 GI homecoming scene, to several JFK portraits in the 1960s.
Rockwell's idealized Thanksgiving scene became a ubiquitous image, seen in a wide variety of formats, all accessible to the collector. First of all, there are the original Government Printing Office posters of the Four Freedoms, measuring 28 by 20 inches, and the U.S. Post Office postage stamps.
In addition, there is a set of bas-relief copper plaques mounted on wooden boards that were awarded by the Post's publisher to schools selling large numbers of savings bonds; a set of 3-inch coffee tins and another 6-inch tin with the words "Saturday Evening Post, March 6, 1943;" a 750-piece panoramic jigsaw puzzle of the Four Freedoms; a 1976 Danbury Mint dinner bell; a limited-edition, 10-inch plate made by Gorham the same year; a 1983 brown transferware "Freedom from Want" pie plate with the legend "The Warmest of Holiday Traditions;" and a series of Four Freedoms place mats. And yes, you can even find a Norman Rockwell "Freedom from Want" T-shirt.
As I conclude this month’s issue, I have been awake all night as we sat mesmerized and watched an historic event take place - Barack Obama has just become the 44th American President. As an American born citizen who, along with Alan and our daughter Morgan all have rights to vote in both countries and feel committed to the vital necessity of working together to create greater world harmony and peace, I feel proud and humbled by the choice that has overwhelmingly been made and feel more positive about the future for all of us as a result.
The American holiday of Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the fourth Thursday in November. Growing up, my parents asked each person around our holiday table to say what they were thankful for ~ I respectfully suggest that each person reading this takes a few moments to think about their answer to this question and to create time in your busy lives to concentrate on all that is good and promising in our lives rather than simply responding to the overwhelming negative news that we constantly hear and read about. I know that each of us has so much to be thankful and grateful for.
A positive frame of mind can make a tremendous difference and coupled with our mutual support for one another I truly believe that we will all find that we can thrive and prosper in the difficult times. I know that we will prove that when you have something unique and special to offer, the market for your offerings will always be there. Countryside Connection and all members will work together to continue to ensure that new people find you and your very special offerings now and in the years ahead! There is strength in numbers and the vital support for one another is crucial to our individual success and to the overall prosperity of our village.
You are all, as always, in my thoughts and I wish all of you peaceful and prosperous times and thank you for the wonderful emails and shared confidences.
Please remember to send in your Special Offers to Members and also to respond to Jackie Miller’s wonderful request for your favourite Christmas Recipes to be shared with all members and visitors to our site. Please send them all in as soon as possible so that I can begin creating our December Newsletter with your contributions and features and send it out early in the month. If you have anything that is time-sensitive and should be sent out earlier, please let me know and I will ensure that all members receive it as soon as possible.
Until then, I wish you all good health, peace of mind and a joyous Thanksgiving to all of our American members and visitors to our site, Heléne