Winterbourne Library

WINTERBOURNE Library is holding events for adults and children to mark the Coronation of King Charles III.

On Friday May 5 there will be afternoon tea and cake from 2-4pm.

On the same day from 3-4pm there will be a crown competition for children aged up to 11. Bring a home-made crown or make one in the library: staff will award a small prize to the best one on the day.

There will be a free drop-in farm-themed craft activity for the half-term holidays on Friday June 2 from 10.30-11.30am. Suitable for children aged four to 11 - craft bags can also be collected to make at home.

Lego club next meets on May 13, from 10am to 11am – for children aged four and up.

Storytime sessions, on Fridays from 9.30-10am in term time only, are suitable for children aged 18 months to four years.

Regular Rhymetimes take place on Wednesdays, 9.30am-10am. Suitable for babies aged up to 18 months.

An adult craft group meets on May 20 and 27, from 10am-noon: join a friendly group of crafters to do your own work and chat – refreshments available.

A digital champion can help people get online, use a PC or phone. The volunteer is available on Fridays from 10am-noon: booking is essential. Computer classes are held on Thursdays (term time only). Enrolment required with SGS College - for more information call Cindy on 0117 909 2296 or email cindy.corbett@sgscol.ac.uk.

The library is open and staffed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am-5pm, and on Saturday from 9.30am-12.30pm. Open Access seven days a week between 8am and 7.30pm.

For more details of events or bookings, visit the library, email Winterbourne.library@southglos.gov.uk or phone 01454 868006.

Ann Murray founded the Cooking4 Cookery School based in Chipping Sodbury. She’s teamed up with Frome Valley Voice to pass on her wealth of experience in the kitchen.

Spring on a plate!

SPRING is officially here, despite some bitterly cold days recently.

But let’s focus on the bright sunny days - and all the new seasonal fruit and veg.

My recipe for this month is a celebration of spring and a lighter, brighter way of cooking after the long winter.

It’s called Spring Vegetable Risotto or, as the Italians would say, Primavera Risotto.

It gives you free rein to make a vibrant traditional risotto cooked on the hob. It’s colourful, freshtasting and full of vitamins.

I’ve used my own favourite spring vegetables, just coming into the shops. British asparagus from the Wye Valley makes a sumptuous addition. But I’ve given other suggestions, if you want a change. It’s a dish that makes my heart sing.

Please don’t be put off by the number of ingredients. Each one is worth its place. This is a dish where the finished result is more than the sum of its parts. And if you can forage some wild garlic leaves (see cook’s tips) you’ll have a real showstopper on your plates.

This is probably the longest recipe I’ve written for the magazine. The reason for this is that I want to give you enough explanation to pull off this perfect example of Italian cooking: fresh, light and delicious.

Buon appetito!

Primavera Risotto

MAKE sure you use risotto riceCarnaroli or Arborio - and that you have plenty of stock simmering on the hob. Be aware that different brands of rice will need different cooking times and amounts of stock, so make sure you don’t mix brands in your cooking.

Serves 2 as a main course.

Ingredients:

Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Unsalted butter – 40g

Medium red onion- 1 finely chopped.

Spring onions – 2, sliced into half inch pieces.

Garlic clove 1, finely chopped. Wild garlic leaves – small bunch, about 30g. (see Cook’s Tip)

Dry white wine- 50 mls

Stock of choice, veg or chicken

– between 700mls and 1 litre (I usually find I use about 975g with the Sergio Carnaroli)

Risotto rice – 200g (7oz), Carnaroli, or Arborio.

Courgettes – 130g, chunkily chopped.

Fresh asparagus spears– 250g. Shelled broad beans – 100g frozen beans work very well. (See Cook’s Tip)

Frozen peas – defrosted, 70g

Unsalted butter to finish the dish –a good 1 ½ oz (25g)

Fresh flat leaf parsley and mint -a good handful, chopped.

Parmesan cheese – Parmigiano Reggiano 30 months matured if possible. 50g, finely grated. Here’s

what you do:

Heat the pan and then add the oil and 40g of butter. When the oil is hot and the butter melted add the onion, garlic, spring onions and courgettes. Sauté gently until it is translucent and lightly coloured.

In a separate pan, bring the stock to the boil and then keep on a gentle simmer all through the cooking of the rice.

Prepare the asparagus. Bend each spear until it breaks, then place these thick stems into the simmering stock to give extra flavour to the stock. (These will be binned when the stock is finished.)

Then cut each spear into half, lengthwise. Then cut each piece in 2. Put these delicate pieces to one side.

Add all the rice to the pan with the vegetables in it. Stir the rice well to coat the grains of rice in the oil. Allow to cook for a couple of mins on a medium heat until the rice becomes translucent.

Turn up the heat and pour in the wine. Allow to bubble away, stirring constantly.

Once the wine has been absorbed (you will hear a little sigh!) add the hot stock a ladle at a time. Don’t add more than a ladle at a time or your risotto will not be creamy. Keep stirring.

Continue adding the stock a ladle at a time and allowing each ladle to be absorbed. Add the delicate spears when almost all the stock has been used. Add the wild garlic leaves if using at the same time.

The rice should look and taste creamy. When you drawer a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan you should see a line. The rice should be cooked, but still retain a slight bite (‘al dente’ as the Italians would say.)

This is the key point. The amount of time and stock can vary. It may take about ½ hour and you may run out of stock. You can just use boiling water if this happens. Keep adding and stirring until you have the correct creamy texture for you.

Season with plenty of pepper, taste and add salt if necessary.

Stir in the 25g of butter with the Parmesan and mix well. Stir in most of the herbs leaving a little as a garnish.

Cover and leave for a couple of mins before serving onto warmed plates.

Sprinkle with the reserved parsley and mint.

Serve immediately.

Cook’s Tips:

Wild garlic leaves look like spinach leaves. They have a wonderfully subtle smell and taste of ordinary garlic. They can be foraged from woods and damp places. You will know when you find them because of the all-pervasive, delicate smell of garlic!

I find using frozen broad beans better and easier than using fresh. There’s none of that double podding to be done, only to find there’s only 2 beans in the pod! The beans are harvested at their best and frozen immediately, so you’re getting them probably fresher, unless you grow them yourself.

Try adding different Spring vegetables with the onions e.g. Add the white part of leeks, or celery or Swiss chard or green beans, mangetout or sugar snaps.

Coalpit Heath WI

AS Briony May Williams had to reschedule due to work commitments we took on the challenge of indoor curling.

Fortunately we had our expert, Trixie, on hand to help us set up and explain the rules.

Not that that helped one team, who had misunderstood the expectations - or at least that was the excuse when they lost by a significant amount! It was, however, a fun evening.

We were delighted to welcome some visitors, who joined in brilliantly, even commenting that "a dangerous evening was had" - we hope to see them again soon.

We held our Easter raffle too, to raise some funds for welfare as well as choosing our favourite Twiddlemuff -sensory therapy tools for those with dementia - which will go forward to the competition judged at the WI group meeting held later this month.

The book club met up this month too, and discussed ‘The Light between Oceans’, which proved to be an excellent book for provoking discussion about moral dilemmas and whether grief and loss justify actions.

Chosen for our next read is ‘How to Kill Your Family’, by Bella Mackie.

Members of our day trips and theatre group enjoyed the production of Evita at the Redgrave Theatre, and had excellent seats.

Coming up, for those interested is a King’s Coronation afternoon tea, a visit to the Wildflower meadow at Highgrove, and wine tasting.

If you fancy coming along and seeing what we have to offer, you would be most welcome.

We meet on the first Wednesday of each month in St Saviour’s church hall at 7.45pm.

Search @WICoalpitHeath on Facebook or @coalpitheathwi on Instagram to find out any further information and updates.

Our upcoming meetings include: May 3, resolutions meeting with wine tasting; June 7, Life as a Blind VIP and July 5, Briony May Williams - Life after Bake Off.

Caroline Johnston

Winterbourne Down WI

OUR President kindly held a dinner party in order to raise funds for our WI. Margaret had put so much effort into giving us a night to remember, from the tables laid out with yellow serviettes and vases of yellow daffodils to a delicious meal and plenty to drink.

As we managed to win against Falfield WI in the skittles tournament: we will now be playing in the semi-finals against Old Sodbury.

At our April meeting Donna, one of our own members, demonstrated how to decorate a cake, supplying us with a mini sponge, butter icing, marzipan and a chocolate bunny, we created an Easter-themed decorated cake with much laughter in between.

The Winterbourne Down May Day Carnival is fast approaching, so we are asking members to help supply our stall with home baked cakes, jams and preserves.

We will also be holding a tombola, which proved to be very successful last year.

The Carnival is a well-supported event, which each year entices families from around the area. There are maypole dancing displays, the mummers, tug-of-war games, food and drink outlets and much much more.

All Saints’ Church Hall is popular for lunches, delicious cream teas and live music.

Let’s hope the weather is kind to us.

We meet at 7.30pm every first Thursday of the month at All Saints’ Church Hall.

Victoria Goodman

Winterbourne Evening WI

OUR April meeting is always a little different, as we pay our subscriptions for the coming year and look forward to more outside activities – such as a picnic tea by the river or a plant sale to restock our gardens.

However, top of the list are the Coronation celebrations. We are delighted to be helping the parish council put up the festive decorations on the green by the George and Dragon.

Our guest speaker was Alison Smith, who introduced us to the craft of diamond painting.

This, long ago, meant sticking real diamonds on to velvet cloth.

Now it means creating pictures with tiny coloured plastic dots, stuck on a board or canvas – rather similar to painting by numbers or cross stitch.

Alison had brought lots of colourful examples of her work, and each member was given a miniature kit to have a go.

There were lots of beautiful dinosaurs, turtles and other creatures produced, and we realised what an absorbing, relaxing and addictive craft it was.

It’s suitable to do alone or with friends and family.

After chocolate biscuits and a little box of mini Easter eggs for everyone, we went home with our ‘diamond’ masterpieces, looking forward to our next meeting.

This will be on Thursday, May 11, at 7.30pm at St Michael’s School, Linden Close, when David Cheesley will talk on ‘Muck, Coal and Any Old Iron’.

Visitors are always welcome.

Margaret Grazebrook

Frampton Cotterell WI

AT our late March meeting we enjoyed a fascinating talk by local historian John Winston-Smith, about a Norman hunting lodge that was discovered in his back garden in Alveston!

We also got to see some of the archaeological finds that have been discovered at the site to date, where students from Bristol University continue to excavate.

At the end of April, Jenny Smith was coming along to give us a Tai Chi talk and demo - there's plenty of variety on offer for members this spring and summer!

Other confirmed events for the coming months are as follows: May 23, WI Annual Resolutions Meeting, June 27, Fussels Rapeseed Oil talk and cookery demo, July 25 'Crime and the Serial Killer' talk by Rob Jones.

We have many other events and socials lined up for the coming year, including visits to the theatre, local gardens and other local group trips. We have an Oakham Treasures Museum trip planned in October.

We also have a monthly lunch club, open to all members and held at a different local venue each time.

Visitors and new members are welcome to our monthly meetings at St Peter’s Hall on School Road at 7.45pm on the fourth Tuesday of the month.

There is a charge of £4 for the evening, and any new members can also join by paying a membership fee.

In the meantime, if you’re interested in joining us please let us know and get in touch via our Facebook page, which also contains confirmation of future event dates and more details.

Special interest groups that meet separately including a book club, craft group, gardening group and our skittles and darts teams.

Winterbourne Barn news

WINTERBOURNE Barn was already 150 years old when John Cabot sailed The Matthew from Bristol across the Atlantic to discover the American mainland at Newfoundland.

The replica of his ship, made in 1997 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of this crossing, is now one of the most iconic symbols of modern Bristol's trading and seafaring heritage.

Clive Burlton tells the story of the replica Matthew and her voyage across the Atlantic on Thursday May 25 at 7pm in the Medieval Barn. This fascinating talk will include film footage.

Before that you can take a tour of the barn and St Michael's Church, on May 4 at 2pm, to find out how the Barn was built and learn something about its builder Sir Thomas de Bradeston of Winterbourne Manor, who was an important figure in medieval England.

May 4 is also the day you can buy tickets in person from the Barn for upcoming events, between 1 and 2pm. Bookings can be made online via the Barn website at other times.

You can enjoy a Wine-tasting in the Barn on May 20.

Local expert Ian Redfearn will guide you through a selection of South African wines, in a fun and informative evening. Tickets cost £20.

Tickets are also now on sale for the wonderful Medieval Fayre on June 11. Come and experience a day of medieval life re-enacted by the Company of Chivalry, and enjoy the laughs and chaos involved in a barn dance in a real barn, with traditional music from band Sargents' Mess and excellent caller Rob shouting the steps.

A summer barn dance takes place on June 17.

The Barn is hosting some more popular Craft workshops this summer. Fancy a go at fused glass? You can make a summer lantern on May 12, or a decorative glass panel on July 25, when there is also a special workshop for adults and children to try it together.

For more details visit www.winterbournebarn.org.uk.

Louise Harrison

n COMMUNITY NEWS

Winterbourne Musical Theatre

WINTERBOURNE Musical Theatre presents Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the well-loved musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, at WADCA Community Centre this month.

The musical tells the biblical story of 'Jacob and sons', in a fun family show packed with wellknown songs like Any Dream Will Do.

This is an amateur production licensed by the Really Useful Group Ltd, featuring a local all-age cast aged from eight to 85.

There is plenty of humour both visually and in Tim Rice's wonderful lyrics.

The show takes place from May 16-20 at the centre in Watleys End Road, with evening performances from Tuesday to Friday at 7.30pm and a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.

Tickets, costing £13, are available online from Ticketsource or by calling 01454 317408, and more information is available on the local group's website, www.winterbournemusical. co.uk, and Facebook page.

Louise Harrison

Winterbourne Ladies Probus Club

ARE you recently retired, looking to meet people and socialise in a friendly group? Then you would be very welcome at Winterbourne Down Ladies Probus.

Our club was started in 1998 by a few likeminded ladies who wanted to get together on a regular basis with other retired professionals in the area.

We meet at 2pm on the third Monday of each month at All Saints Church Hall, Winterbourne Down.

Meetings start with a short club business session, followed by a talk from a visiting speaker. We then have tea and biscuits and time for a chat before the meeting ends at 4pm.

Over the next year, we are hoping to book various local social events as well as some day trips and possible theatre visits for members, Visitors can attend five meetings per year (March to February) at a cost of £3.50 per meeting or pay an annual membership of £25.

If you would like to visit us, or for more information, please call 01454 773647.

Sue Humphreys

Floral Friends of Frampton

CRAB apples, anyone? The newly planted crab apple tree in the Sensory Garden at the Brockeridge Centre has settled in well and is flowering beautifully.

Hopefully we will have some fruit in the autumn -- anyone else like crab apple jelly?.

Did you know crab apples are so called, not because they look like crabs but because they are ‘crabbed’, that is small?

Our

Spring Fayre and Plant

Sale takes place at the Brockeridge Centre on May 27, from 10am-noon.

Come along and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee with a cake, browse the stalls and, maybe, buy some plants for your garden. An event not to be missed!

Floral Friends are entirely funded by donations and we would like to thank all who have supported us recently by making donations, and perhaps commemorating someone special by doing so. It is very much appreciated

Donations can be made either in person or on-line. Our bank details are: Floral Friends of Frampton, Lloyds 30-98-97, account number 70582363.