|
Mid Anglia - Jacy CuttingSecretary: Elspeth Griffin Autumn 2007 Update from Mid Anglia On 12th September members of the mid Anglia branch visited the Mauldons Brewery in Sudbury, Suffolk. The Mauldon family had been involved in brewing here since 1795 when Anna Maria began at the Bull Hotel. In 1982 the premises on Chilton Industrial Estate was acquired, and in 2000 Steve and Alison Sims took over the microbrewery as it is now. The business is thriving and uses only traditional methods and quality materials to supply a range of premium real ales throughout the country. We were treated to sandwiches and given tasters of various different ales. All enjoyed the evening. Our Harvest Roast Supper was held on the 22nd September, the day the British Food Fortnight started, and this was hosted once more at Robert and Jill Tod’s with local beef and vegetables. Our After Dinner Speaker was Mr Jim Macauley who gave us a very refreshing and light hearted talk on farming life. We rounded off 2008 when Members and friends of WFU were invited to an Evening Meeting on Thursday 22 November at Stoke by Nayland Golf Club where we welcomed Mr James Abbott from Rivenhall who spoke on “Bringing back our Night Sky”. Mr Abbott is a Landscape Gardener with his own tree nursery. He is a member of Braintree District Council with special interests in transport, energy and the environment. He also has a degree in astronomy. Mr Abbott was recommended by one of our members who heard him speak on the subject, which is light pollution and ways of overcoming it by making the best use of light. A Buffet Supper was enjoyed by members and friends afterwards. Mid season Branch Report 2007 - 21st September 2007 In May we visited Marybelle Dairies, run by a Farming Family, the Strachans of Rendham, Suffolk processing milk from their own and other local farms, which was created in the aftermath of BSE and FMD. Marybelle was a business move created out of necessity for the survival of their Pedigree herd of Holstein cows. The herd has been established for some 25 years and the past decade of declining prices meant that a positive move had to be made to make the business of dairy farming profitable, but most importantly provide the well deserved care of the new business to be developed. It is comprised of the two names of the most influential milk providers in Marybelle: Telstar MARY and Duncan BELLE. We were shown round the Dairy and Milk processing plant finishing up with a tasting session of their yogurts and ice creams. In early June, we went to Bulmer Brick and Tile, Sudbury owned by Mr Peter Minter who grew up with brick making, and brick making has been on the same site for hundreds of years. Mr Minter inherited the company from his father in 1974 and they specialise in making unusual bricks in a traditional way. This is a brick yard, not a factory and they are brick makers, not manufacturers. They make 100 sizes of bricks to suit both restoration projects and new builds, and take orders from single bricks to thousands of bricks. They have made specialist bricks for some 10,000 buildings so far. A group of WFU members, husbands and friends were taken round the site looking at the clay, through to the finished bricks – a real eye opener. At the present time they are in the process of building a new kiln at the yard and Mr Minter can remember building the present kiln with his father when he was a boy. When his grandson joins the business, there will be three generations working together so keeping it all in the family. In September we are organising a Brewery visit, followed by our Harvest Supper and rounding off the year with an Evening Meeting with speaker and dinner. Jacy Cutting Newsletter – 2006/2007 Mid Anglia Branch started off 2006 with the Farmhouse Breakfast Week, 19-27 January and the challenge ‘Make Time for Breakfast’ was sponsored by HGCA. We approached 15 local schools to produce a Healthy Breakfast Menu to be judged on nutritional value, with a menu card. The winning school, St Benedicts College, Colchester cooked their Healthy Breakfast for 10 invited guests, ie The Mayor, WFU, NFU and press on Friday 27 January. The teacher involved informed us how much the children had enjoyed taking part in the competition, and how much they had learnt. The Branch AGM was held at the Marlborough Hotel in Dedham with a visit from our President, Ionwen Lewis who spoke to us about her ideas for the coming year. This was followed with a meal in the Hotel’s bar. On the 30 May the WFU Spring Conference was held at Stratford upon Avon. The theme being ‘Where does our food come from – see website Then on 26 April we were at our sixth Schools Farm Fair held at Trinity Park, previously called the Suffolk Showground in Ipswich, with around 3,500 7-9 year olds attending to learn more about farming, the countryside and food. The theme this year for the WFU stand was, ‘ Where your food comes from’. We had 4 questions to ask the children in the form of a quiz, and they clearly enjoyed themselves answering these questions and looking at our colourful back drop that Alison Bond painted for us – a huge thank you to Alison for this wonderful project. This event brings together pupils, teachers, farmers and food producers from across the region allowing the children to see fresh, local and seasonal foods. On 24 May we had a most interesting and informative visit to Syngenta Bioline Ltd, Little Clacton in Essex who are producers of beneficial insects and mites for use in ‘Integrated Crop Management’ programmes for the control of insect pests and bumblebees for crop pollination. The principal crops where the company uses its products are salad vegetables, soft fruit and ornamentals. Syngenta Bioline breed over 30 different species of insects and mites, more than 75% of sales are made from in house products. Products are targeted at different pests species in several crops. In October the Harvest Supper was hosted by Robert and Jill Tod with local beef and all the trimmings. This year our quest speaker was Rev Canon Sally Fogden, Agricultural Chaplain – Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, and Chairman of Suffolk Farm Crisis Network. Sally gave a very light hearted and amusing talk. WFU’s National AGM took place on 11 October at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire with over 60 members being present. The group were treated to a superb tour of the farm and the farm shop. Following lunch and a tour of the house and gardens, president Ionwen Lewis, vice president Debbie McBean and national secretary Sue Archer led the AGM. Issues covered included highlighting the plight of the dairy industry; campaigning for honest food labelling and investigating fair trade for Britain’s farmers will all be targets in 2007 for WFU. We rounded off the year with our annual Evening Meeting at Stoke by Nayland in November with Fergus Howie from Wicks Manor Pork in Maldon, Essex, telling us how his family started up the business some 40 years ago, and how the business has grown over the course of time, now supplying farm shops and supermarkets with bacon, gammon slices, etc. The meeting was followed by a superb buffet. Support for the WFU has increased in 2006 despite the difficulties faced by the farming industry with a revival in membership numbers. The 2007 National Conference is being hosted by Dengie Hundred on 10, 11 and 12 April at Felsted School, Felsted, Essex Titled “What’s Next?” Speakers and delegates will investigate the future of food and farming in the UK including EU policies and environmental concerns. A Note from The Chair - 2005/6 It has been a very busy year for the Mid-Anglia branch of the WFU, but with the help of the Committee we organised quite a number of events: The Branch AGM was our first event, which was held on 10 March 2005 at Stoke-by-Nayland, and we welcomed Betty Jones onto the Committee, who is a valued member through her work as a Rural/Hospital Chaplain in the Anglia Division of the Salvation Army. We said a fond farewell to our Chairman, Elizabeth Mansfield, who stood down after several years in “The Chair”, but will remain as a valued member of the Committee. Elizabeth was unable to attend the AGM, as she was about to give birth to her first child, Eve. This year we were fortunate enough to have Richard Wright to speak to us about his diversification into hand made Botanical Oil Lamps. This business came about through swine fever and then foot and mouth. He gave us a very memorable talk, which proved to be extremely light hearted and amusing. We were able to purchase his Flame and Flower products at the end of the talk. If anyone would like to purchase his oil lamps, you can reach him on 01508 528 728 or email: flameandflowers@btconnect.co.uk, or web: www.flameandflowers.co.uk for more information. The WFU Spring Conference was in March and held in Cornwall. The Conference was as a huge success, well supported and very informative. The theme was ‘Rural Innovation – Thinking outside the Box’!! and delegates included members and non-members from all over the UK. Next years Conference is to be held in Stratford-upon-Avon by the Warwickshire Branch on 30 March – 1 April 2006. The actual conference day is on Friday 31 March. On 27 April we were involved in the fifth Schools Farm Fair held at the Suffolk Show Ground where about 3000 7-9 year olds descended upon the showground to learn about farming, countryside and food which was a huge success and the children seem very well informed about healthy eating. The WFU put on a Healthy Eating package to make children more aware of what goes into their lunch boxes. There were 17 photographs of varying foods from applies to chocolate cakes, tomatoes to crisps and water to a coke drink. The children put the sticky backed photos onto the display boards deciding which were the Healthy and Less Healthy options. The 25th Anniversary of the Mid Anglia Branch was celebrated on the 20 May, with approximately 44 past members and supporters, including Gillian van de Meer, WFU President, gathering together at Roberts & Jill Tod’s farm near Colchester The evening began with Faith Tippet, who was the first Chairman of the Anglia Branch when the WFU was formed in 1979, saying a few words about the formation of the WFU, and including some amusing situations the ladies found themselves in. We welcomed Brian Wright and his wife from Middleton near Sudbury who talked about his farms in Hungary. This was a very interesting and informative talk as on 16 May 2004 several of our members and their husbands travelled to Mr Wright’s farm in Hungary which proved to be the highlight of our calendar year. We also welcomed our newest member, Sally Fogden who is the Suffolk Agricultural Chaplain, and our oldest member/supporter, Miss Clarke who was 93 years old. Sadly Miss Clarke died in her sleep a week later. Strawberry Visit, Tuesday 7 June. Avocet Alpacas, owned by Joanna and Giles de Bertodano, Tuesday 6 September proved to be a most interesting and informative visit. We were introduced to a pack of female alpacas and their young in the barn, where we could watch them at close quarters. There are about 70 alpacas on the farm, fawn, brown and black. The group was split into two. Giles took the first group round his machine mill where we were able to see the various stages that take place in the milling of alpaca or sheep fleeces into specified yarn or felt or dyeing. The other group of ladies went into the shop area, where Joanna has several garments from Peru to see and purchase. As a fabric, alpaca fibre continues to be used for its warmth, unscratchiness, dye-ability and hardwearing qualities. To celebrate the beginning of British Food Fortnight, we held our HARVEST SUPPER on Saturday 24 September, hosted again by Robert and Jill Tod with magnificent English Beef, hot seasonal vegetables, and delicious dessert. Our guest speaker was Archie Howie who was an inspiration to us all. Archie is a farmer and has gone back into the world of After Dinner Speaking. He gave us a brief encounter with the words “Women, Food, Farming and Union” – a lot of hilarity followed!! On Wednesday 9 November we held an Evening Meeting at Stoke by Nayland Golf Club welcoming Mr Oliver Harwood who spoke on Renewable Energy: Bio diesel, Bio ethanol and Biomass. Oliver is head of Rural Economy and Chief Surveyor at the CLA. He graduated in Land Management and trained as a Surveyor working with professional firms in Devon and East Anglia before joining the CLA eight years ago. He leads a team of economists, planners and surveyors delivering advice to the Government and some 40,000 members and 130,000 rural businesses in England and Wales. Oliver is secretary of the CLA renewable energy working party and is a former Council member of British Biogen and Bio fuels Alliance. May I take this opportunity to remind everyone that subscriptions are NOW due. These are being collected by our Branch, so please would you forward these without delay to our Secretary, Elspeth Griffin. Also, we do need ideas from our members for visits – where would you like to go, or, what would you like to do? Please contact Elspeth with your ideas. Jacy Cutting
Farm event to focus on practical ways to make money from livestock - 26th September 2005 A WFU supported event will give an insight into how farmers of any size can add value to their livestock. "The Real Field to Fork" will bring together speakers already working in the sector to show how the supply chain works from start to finish and how farmers can make the most of the opportunities. It will be held from 10am to 2.45pm on Monday 26th September at Athelington Hall near Eye, in Suffolk. The event, to coincide with British Food Fortnight, has been organised by ADER in conjunction with WFU (Women's Food and Farming Union), LiPS (Ladies in Pigs), NFU, EBLEX and BPEX (English Beef and Lamb Executive and British Pig Executive). The day will begin with real life examples of farmers who produce animals for specific butchery requirements and will be followed by a talk from Lamberts abattoir explaining the importance of quality and uniformity of each carcase. Using a pig as an example, Terry Beales will then give a butchery demonstration showing how best to cut an animal to minimise wastage and use the parts often not traditionally bought by consumers. After a hog roast and locally produced lunch the afternoon will be spent exploring the additional aspects of a supply chain. This will include a presentation from Carolyn Leggett of Otley Food Skills Centre talking about legislation, training and health and safety aspects of meat production. Finally the marketing, branding and promotion issues will be addressed by Elizabeth Mansfield, a rural business marketing consultant (and WFU member!) Places are limited and cost £10 per person to include refreshments. For questions or to book please contact Jean Turnbull on 01449 711060. The "Real" Field to Fork Programme
Better Late than Never!! - 4th March 2005 On one of the coldest snowiest nights of the year Eve Amelia Mansfield decided to make her presence felt, 11 days late. She was born fit and well at 10.39am yesterday morning, 3rd March, weighing 7lb 8oz. Mother, baby and father are all doing well and very pleased that they managed the home birth they had very much hoped for. CHAIRMAN'S NEWSLETTER
Firstly, for those of you receiving this at the Evening Meeting I must apologise for my absence. Unfortunately the meeting coincided with my first ante-natal class (our first child is due in February) and I was strongly advised by my midwife that non-attendance would be foolish. Being unable to attend the meeting, or the AGM (probably!), I will not have the opportunity to thank everyone for their support to the branch this year. We, and the organisation nationally, continue because of everyone's commitment to the cause of promoting and improving understanding of British agriculture and trying to reduce the barriers between producers and consumers. So, whether receiving this letter on the 17th November, or afterwards, please accept my very sincere thanks, particularly to the Committee for all their hard work. January usually commences for the branch with Farmhouse Breakfast Week organised by the Home Grown Cereals Authority. This year was a slight exception as the event we planned was postponed for a few weeks due to the heavy snow and ice. However, eventually, in February we visited the Thomas Lord Audley School and Language College in Colchester to talk to a year 11 group (over 200 pupils aged 11 - 12). The event was part of a wider initiative that the Healthy Eating Co-ordinator had decided to organise when we explained about the campaign. The children carried out various breakfast activities across one morning that fitted into the national curriculum. They proved to be quite a handful but all enjoyed the bacon sandwich we cooked for them and hopefully learnt something about food and farming through the quiz that we carried out with them. We received some good press coverage and the school was keen to continue our relationship and potentially hold a similar event next year (2005). We are in the process of organising next January's event so will keep you posted of progress! March brought with it our branch AGM. Elspeth Griffin and I both continued as Secretary and Chairman respectively. We were then entertained and educated by Julie Foster, a qualified aromatherapist who also runs her own business, Potions and Possibilities. With plenty of time for questions we covered topics varying from the history and usage of essential oils through to how to use and apply them for animals. It was an interesting (and highly scented!) morning for all those that were able to attend. The Suffolk Schools Farm Fair in April is now becoming a regular event and this year was no exception. 3000 local children came to the Suffolk Showground to experience farming and the countryside. The WFU stand was organised by Jacy Cutting who, with her willing and able fellow volunteers, spent time talking about healthy eating. The focus was particularly on the school lunchbox with an interactive display for the children to really get to grips with (and hopefully take home) the concepts. Breaking with the tradition of local or regional visits Jean Fuller kindly arranged an trip to Hungary that took place in May. This was a particularly interesting visit given the timing of the new countries joining the European Union. Ian Stratford wrote a report of the visit that I have a copy of if anyone would like to see it. In June we had a visit to Angus and Sally Scobie in White Colne who farm peonies, amongst running many other farming and diversified enterprises. The visit in July was to my family farm near Ipswich. Several people were able to come along on a glorious summer evening, which we decided to make the most of by having a short walk around part of the farm. Being spread over nine parishes it is quite difficult to do a proper farm walk in less than a day - it's not to do with the quantity of land we farm, more the distance between the fields! My light land and small crop of sunflowers caused particular amusement for some of the heavy land Essex folk amongst the visitors! Our final visit of the year, in early September, was to Wilkins and Sons at Tiptree. Quite a large group of us managed to attend and were treated to a complete tour of the factory by two highly informed and helpful guides who had worked in the factory for many years. We all stood in amazement at different points in the production process not quite believing at times that a small cottage enterprise could have been turned into such an automated but still labour intensive international company. The only shame is that there is only one "Mr Wilkin" left, and he has no children. Wilkins and Sons will eventually stop being a family enterprise. Our Harvest Supper on the 9th October was scheduled to coincide with British Food Fortnight. As last year, the good food, good company and listening to our President, Gillian van der Meer, all made for a highly enjoyable evening and we were able to donate nearly £220 to RABI and Essex Air Ambulance. Thank you to everyone who supported the event. Despite standing down as your Chairman in March 2005 the committee are already planning our new team and are currently organising events for next year. If you have any good ideas for visits, comments on our programme or would be willing and able to get more involved in branch activities please do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the current committee. With the dark evenings looming and seasonal decorations appearing in all the shops I would finally like to wish those that I will not see over the coming weeks a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year - and thanks again for your support to the Mid Anglia branch of the WFU. Best wishes, Elizabeth Mansfield Suffolk Show - 2 - 3 June 2004 Suffolk School Farm Fair - 28 April 2004 At approximately 9.15am, as the rain subsided, 50 coach loads of 6-7 year olds descended upon the Suffolk Showground for the fourth Suffolk School Farm Fair wearing suitable wet weather clothing and foot wear. Each school was split into groups of 6/7 children escorted by their teachers and helpers and by a steward around the various exhibitions at the Showground. The WFU put on a Healthy Eating Package to make children more aware of what goes into their lunch boxes. There were 17 photographs of varying foods from apples to chocolate cakes, tomatoes to crisps and water to a coke drink. The children put the sticky backed photographs onto the display boards deciding which were the Healthy and Less Healthy options. We were amazed at the understanding this age group already has with regard to food and drinks. We also found they love to touch and feel, and to interact with the WFU helpers. So by 2.30pm having felt, poked, pulled, stuck and generally had a good time, the children were exhausted and ready to catch their respective coaches back to school, having seen and learnt so much about food and farming. Hopefully the visit will stay with the children for some time to come. Jacy Cutting Programme for 2003:
June 2002 NewsThe Essex and Suffolk Farm Womens Club held a Jubilee Garden Party on 11th June in the gardens of Nancy and David Canon, Colchester. The WFU joined in the celebrations by promoting the Jewels of Summer receipe book and offering superb strawberries for tasting and sale. The WFU also displayed five receipes from the book, resulting in 10 books being sold - well done ladies! April NewsThe Suffolk Schools Farm Fair takes place on Wednesday 1 May 2002. Organised by the Suffolk Agricultural Association in excess of 4,000 primary school children will descend on the Suffolk Showground to see and learn about all aspects of farming. Mid Anglia WFU will promote the breakfast theme on their stand, giving the children the opportunity to identify where the raw ingredients of their breakfast comes from and establishing just how many actually have breakfast each day. On Tuesday 7 May Mid Anglia members and friends will visit the RSPB at Grange Farm, Cambridgeshire. This follows Vicki Swales, their Head of Agriculture, visiting members last year to explain about their work. This visit will give the opportunity to see how conventional farming gives the opportunity to develop a rich environment. The Suffolk Show takes place later than usual, on 6 and 7 June. Mid Anglia WFU hopes to gain share space with Suffolk NFU and promote breakfasts as well as promoting the need for clear food labelling. The Branch will support the local Farm Women's Club which has organised s Jubilee Celebration on 11 June 2002. WFU will be offering a strawberry tasting to guests and selling the Cook Book at this event. The Tendring Hundred Show will be held 13 July 2002. This year the Committee has invited WFU to participate in the main theme of the show demonstrating the 'wheat to table' process. WFU will take the dough and bake the bread, inviting children to help with the kneading and then return later to collect their handiwork once it has been baked. A busy few weeks for Mid Anglia WFU. Programme for 2002:
www.wfu.org.uk |
