Saturday 29th September 19.00 Ebrington Village Hall

Harvest Suppers are held throughout the countryside to celebrate the safe gathering of the crops.

Harvest Home

“Hip!Hip!Hip!For the harvest home,

Now we’ve taken the last load home,

I ripped my shirt and teared my skin,

To get my master’s harvest in.”

Ebrington’s traditional Harvest Supper will be held at the end of September in the Village Hall and will be a Yubberton Supper and Entertainment.

There is a licensed Bar for beer and wine

The cost is Adults £6.00 Children 12 years and under £3.50

Contact Jean Stanley 01386 593250 or Malvern Strollers 01386 840120

Everyone is most welcome.

Tags: beer | ebrington | food

Saturday 11th August Ebrington Flower and Vegetable Show

The Ebrington and District Gardening Club are holding their 27th Annual Show at The Washbrook Barn, Ebrington and in spite of the recent bad weather, the Club is hoping to have lots and lots of entries in all of the classes to show (no pun intended) that the village tradition and its growing and craft skills are as strong as ever.

There are classes for - Vegetables, Flowers, Fruit,Floral Art,Cookery,Wine,Photography and Craft Work.

Whilst entry is generally for club members only the Children’s classes are open to any child up to and including the age of 12 years and the Floral Art classes are also open to members of Ebrington Women’s Institute.

You will have seen The Great British Village Show on the telly so lets show the BBC what a real Cotswold Village Show is all about (and our judges are just as fierce and just as critical) but unfortunately we can’t take the winners to Highgrove.

The Show is open to the public from 2.30pm and prizes are presented at 4.00pm.

The Show proved to be a big success with over 400 entries and lots of visitors. In particular the children’s section was very well supported with 45 entries and the overall quality of all entries was excellent.

The Special Prizes were awarded as follows:-
Challenge Shield - most points gained in the Show - Rachel Cunynghame
Sarah Grant Memorial Bowl - Lady gaining most points in the Show - Rachel Cunynghame
Miriam Collins Flower Cup - most points gained in Classes 22-61-Rachel Cunynghame
RHS Bronze Medal-most points gained in Classes 1-68-Eric Williams
Drinkwater Cup-for Floral Art Class 71-Beryl Warren
National Vegetable Society Medal-most points gained in Classes 1-21-Doug Drinkwater
National Vegetable Society Medal-best single vegetable exhibit-Doug Drinkwater
National Vegetable Society Medal-most points gained in Classes 1-3-Roger Righton
National Vegetable Society Medal-most points gained in Classes 15-19-Jo Spark
Peter Righton Memorial Cup-Best Dahlia exhibit-Kevin Righton
Best exhibit in Rose Classes 31-34-Jo Spark
Most points gained in Fruit Classes 62-68-Eric Williams
Cherry Trees Floral Art Cup-most points gained in Classes 69-71-Dorothy Hart
Derby Cookery Cup-most points gained in Classes 84-99-Rachel Cunynghame
Best exhibit in Class 85-Lemon Drizzle Cake- Sheila Masey
Tankard-most points gained in Wine Classes-John Baldwin
David Goodenough Cup-best bottle of wine in Show-John Baldwin
Ebrington Arms Cup-most points gained in Photography Classes - Tim Binder
Craft Work Cup-most points gained in Craft Classes- Jo Spark
Craft Prize-best exhibit in Craft Classes - Tim Binder
Paddington Bear Cup-best exhibit in Children’s Classes - Ethan Hannis
RHS Junior Competitor’s Award of Merit - best children’s horticultural exhibit-Kara Cooke
Mai Dorrington Cup - most points gained in children’s under age 5 classes - Christopher Hunt
Mai Dorrington Cup- most points gained in children’s aged 5-8 classes - James Warren
Mai Dorrington Cup- most points gained in children’s aged 9-12 - Chloe Friedman
Gardening Club Monthly Competition- most wins in the year - Jane Hart

The challenge now is to make the 2008 Show even bigger and better - Happy Growing

Tags: ebrington | food | wi

A real Cotswold Hen with very special ox-blood dark brown eggs

This is another special Cotswold Hen. The name originates from Cotswold farmers Tom and Mabel Pearman who moved to Westhill, Burford during the early 1900’s. Mabel earned pin money from butter and from the special dark brown eggs from the hens which were her pride and joy.

Mabel kept her hens in the Rickyard at Manor Farm and they were free to roam on the grassy slopes overlooking Burford High Street.

Their eggs were very special with a chocolate coloured shell and large deep yellow yolks and a super flavour. With their thick dark brown shells they soon became known as Burford Browns.

Mabel Pearman was Philip Lee-Woolf’s grandmother and the origins of her birds have been passed down through the family until he has reintroduced the breed through the ethical egg producer he founded - Clarence Court. Three years ago Mr Lee-Woolf, bred the first Mabel Pearman’s Brown Burford in 50 years. The hens were difficult to breed because the gene for a chocolate-coloured egg is recessive, meaning it would be swamped by any genes for other colours. Only chickens with a particular heritage produce the eggs.

Another problem is that the blue-black hens lay just five eggs a week compared with up to 10 from the average modern hybrid.

Clarence Court are donating 2p to HEN Aid for every pack of Burford Brown eggs sold between now and End of September.

www.clarencecourt.co.uk

Farm Africa - making a lasting difference to Africa’s families.

Tags: charity | eggs | food

From Patagonia to Stow-on-the-Wold - what a journey!

An “Old Cotswold Legbar” is a chicken. The hen lays her eggs in a variety of beautiful pastel colours including turquoise, blue, olive, pink, peach and eau-de-nil. The colours are perfectly natural and are akin to the eggs laid by many wild birds.

They are proud, striking birds with distinctive “crests” and the hawk-like eyes of their earlier Chilean relatives. They can be traced back to the 1920s. Botanist and explorer, Mr. Clarence Elliott from Stow-on-the Wold in the Cotswolds, who toured the world collecting rare plants and animals, set sail for home in 1927 from Patagonia and amongst the many animals on board his “Noahs Ark” were three Chilean Araucana hens and a cockerel. Disaster struck when the cockerel was killed accidently but the three hens survived the trip.

These hens were used at Cambridge University in genetic studies of poultry and by crossing these Araucana hens with White Leghorns and Gold Legbars, and over four generations, they produced the Cream Legbar.

Direct descendants of these Cambridge Legbars are now kept on farms in the Cotswolds and have been instrumental in the development of Clarence Court’s own bird - the Old Cotswold Legbar.

Clarence Court are donating 2p to HEN-Aid for every pack of Old Cotswold Legbar eggs sold until the end of September.

www.clarencecourt.co.uk

Stay for Bed and Breakfast at Little Gidding and you will be served a free range Old Cotswold Legbar egg (or eggs) from Ebrington Washbrook at the breakfast table and we can show you the blue egg shell as proof.(subject to their hens co-operating and providing enough eggs)

Tags: ebrington | eggs | food

Buy Clarence Court Eggs and Help Raise Money for Farmers in Africa

Clarence Court has championed ethical egg production since it was founded seventeen years ago by Cotswold farmer Philip Lee-Woolf and he has pioneered the revival of pure breed bloodlines which, unlike modern hybrids, are bred for egg quality and not quantity.

Last year he distributed radios to all his producer farms because music relaxes chickens and happy hens lay better eggs.

Philip was anxious to do more and to mark the 22nd anniversary of Live Aid, the multi-venue rock concert for famine relief, Clarence Court has joined forces with FARM-Africa to raise money for its chicken projects in pastoral communities in Eastern and South Africa.

500,000 charity packs of Old Cotswold Legbar and Burford Browns eggs will go on sale from 13th July until the end of September and for every pack sold Clarence Court will donate 2 pence per pack, with the aim of raising more than £10,000.

This donation will help change the lives of marginal chicken farmers by educating them about how to manage their natural resources more effectively and build sustainable livelihoods on their land.

The Clarence Court charity egg boxes will be stocked in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Booth’s, Fortnum & Mason, Harrods and selected Asda stores.

FARM-Africa is an international non-government organisation that aims to reduce poverty in Eastern and South Africa and has projects in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Southern Sudan.

www.clarencecourt.co.uk
www.farmafrica.org.uk

charlotte.Hutley@thespaway.com

So come on, eat an extra egg for breakfast and help Hen-Aid to achieve it’s target.

Tags: broadway | charity | food | eggs

Ebrington and District Gardening Club wins a Bronze Medal at Hampton Court

It is the first time that the Club has entered the famous “The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show” in London and they came away with a bronze medal, which was a great achievement.

They entered the “Window Box & Hanging Basket Competition, Class WB2″ The Theme was “Edible” and the title of their entry was “Feathered Food Fantasy.”

The entry contained strawberries,nasturtiums and tomatoes with members of the club providing suggestions for the contents.

Barry and Sally Sabin prepared several entries and then chose the best one on the day. Their choice was proved right!.

Well done to all involved.

Tags: ebrington | gardens | food

Gorsehill Abbey St Oswald Cheese is a Supreme Champion

Michael and Diane Stacey of Gorsehill Abbey Farm near Broadway took the Supreme Champion at the Three Counties Cheese and Dairy Produce Competition with their St Oswald cheese. St Oswald is a small rind washed cheese which becomes richer, stronger and more aromatic as it ages. It is named after Oswald, Bishop of Worcester and later Archbishop of York, who is buried at Worcester and is one of their patron saints.

The Three Counties Show was held at Malvern Worcestershire in Mid June and the brand new Cheese & Dairy Produce Show was open to producers resident in Herefordshire,Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. Warners Budgens sponsered this new show and as Supreme Champion the St Oswald cheese will be on sale in their Broadway, Bidford upon Avon and Moreton in Marsh stores for at least two months.

Gorsehill Abbey Cheese produce a range of Fresh and Ripened Cheeses which are available from the farm most of the time or at a number of local shops and Farmers Markets.

www.gorsehillabbey.co.uk

Gorsehill Abbey Farm has been registered organic for over ten years although it has been managed to organic standards for much longer. Michael and Diane have been farming here for over thirty years but have only made cheese commercially since 2003.

Tags: cheese | food | broadway

Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th July will see the 19th Cotswold Show take place at Cirencester Park.

This year’s show will feature displays from groups such as the Royal Corps of Signals White Helmets Motorcycle Display Team and the Cheshire Dog Display Team. Other entertainment will include falconry, horse whispering and celebrity otters.

The food village will include produce from all over the UK with stalls, cookery demonstrations and a farmer’s market.

The event will also include a Rural Craft Village with hands on demonstrations of dry-stone walling, bee-keeping, hurdle making, broom making, rope making and saddle making. Children will be able to make their own beeswax candles or corn dolly to take home.

Cirencester Park is approximately one mile outside Cirencester town centre, past Cirencester College & Deer Park School, before the Agricultural College on the A419 Stroud Road.

Tickets at the gate cost £7 for adults and £2 for Children 3-14.

Update 13th July

Tim Relf’s rural life blog has an interesting article about an event at the Cotswold Show where visitors turned valuers to guess guessing the value of a country cottage, some farm machinery and an antique item.

Tags: festivals | cirencester | food | crafts

In every respect it has been a busy time for Ebrington WI. In mid-April they served a traditional tea for a group of American ladies, all of whom were educationalist visiting England to research the WI movement which is unlike anything they have in the States. In addition to enjoying the countryside, they had spent two days visiting NFWI headquarters and Denman College. During a day in the Cotswolds, lunch had been enjoyed at Daylesford and arriving at Ebrington village hall the group found that Margaret Fisher and Pearl Mitchell had set up a small exhibition showing some of the history of the village as well as displaying the Institute’s several publications. From Ebrington they were going on to the Cheese Rollers’ Arms in Leckhampton where they were to be introduced to the mysteries of skittles after meeting up with Gill Thomas the county chairman. The following day would see them on the road again, this time to the Yorkshire Dales to meet the Calendar Girls and Helen Carey a past national president. In addition. Institute members have provided lunch for Cookhill Seniors’ Club who are regular visitors to Ebrington. The following day they brought their 2006/2007 walking season to a traditional close with the annual picnic walk. This year on a very damp day, the destination was the Forest of Dean where they followed the trail of the Dymock Poets and visited a church with an exhibition relating to the poets.

On 12th May, the internationally renowned Pudding Club was able to add Ebrington to its list of tour venues. Maybe not as exotic as Tokyo or New York but those present were no less appreciative. It was a great event and held to help Edward Coombe raise money towards his visit to Bolivia later in the summer. We wish him a very happy and fulfilling experience.

A date for your diary - Saturday, 23rd June, at 6.30 pm - the annual barbecue and boules evening at the village hall. Please bring your own liquid refreshment.

(From the Chipping Campden Bulletin. Included with kind permission of Jeremy Green)

Tags: ebrington | food | WI

2nd June - 3rd June The Almonry Museum Evesham

Featuring Medieval Medicine and Surgery, Merrie England Re-Enactment Group, Ministrel Music and Court Dancing,

On Saturday evening the “Exile Buskers” an Irish/English Folk music band will be playing in the Market Place with a pig Roast.

Strong Cheddar Cheese, Crusty Bread and Shallots will be served in the Cider Bar on both days and there will also be free entry to the Almonry Museum on both afternoons

Tags: evesham | food | cheese | music | festivals