DLCI 2022 Magazines - October
October
2022
Gala gifts
Sent in by Yveline Ulrich
NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE PRESIDENT
Hello everyone
I must say it’s a very strange feeling to be writing this address rather than just reading and typing it. Kathy made it look so easy!
As we progress through October and welcome autumnal days and some much needed rain for our parched gardens, I look back on a summer where I think we have all discovered 1001 recipes for tomatoes. I now have a freezer and a half full of them, in all shapes and forms, this despite the poor plants being hailed on, drowned and boiled during various stages of growth!
You may see from the top of the page some of the gifts Yveline Ulrich received, won and was awarded (richly deserved) at the DLCI/DOG Gala in September. If you read Kathy’s excellent review of the Gala - which was wonderful! – you will know that the boxes were created by our Vice President Isla Cathcart. Isla has received many requests from members to run a workshop showing her skills and has offered to run a DLCI papercraft workshop as soon as she can find premises (if anyone has any ideas please don’t hesitate to contact her).
DLCIVicePresident@gmail.com
Finally looking ahead to the next three months’ events
The GRAND DLCI QUIZ on Tuesday 11th October
I must thank Pat and Basil Sampson for, not only organising the event with help from Liz Davies our Joint Events co ordinator, but providing all the fabulous prizes as well.
CHRISTMAS FAIR/MARCHÉ DE NÖEL in the Salle de l’Orangerie in Bergerac. Saturday 12th November
Our first Christmas Fair and we assure you it will be very festive with beautifully crafted gifts to buy
CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON AT CHÂTEAU LES MERLES Thursday 8th December
Such a wonderful venue for Christmas. Teresa has managed, yet again, to arrange a preferential rate for us. Details to follow next month.
Isla and I hope to see many of you at the coming events. In the meantime if you have any ideas for future events please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Lin x
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
GRAND DLCI QUIZ, Salle des Fêtes in Creysse
Tuesday 11 October (6pm – 9pm)
Organised by Member Pat Sansom and her husband Basil
Teams of 6 only
– either your own team or one formed by Pat and Basil from individuals/couples. Everyone is very welcome
12€ per person
1st prize 12 bottles of wine (6 sparkling, 3 red and 3 white)
2nd prize 6 bottles sparkling wine
3rd prize 6 bottles wine (3 red, 3 white)
4 Spot prizes in rounds 2, 4, 6 & 8
Buffet supper provided and bar available selling wine and soft drinks.
For more details or to book please contact
Pat at: patriciasansom@orange.fr
or Liz Davies at: DLCIQuiz@gmail.com
CHRISTMAS FAIR/MARCHÉ DE NÖEL
Salle de l’Orangerie in Bergerac
Saturday 12th November
10.00 – 3.30pm
This year will be a very festive affair and only Artisans who make and sell their own high quality items have been invited.
Amongst some of the beautifully crafted gifts you may find are:
Organic candles and body products, bird houses, wooden toys, pottery, silver jewellery, dog leads and accessories, patchwork, wine, scarves and hats, artwork, painted furniture, pearl items, and greetings cards.
CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON AT CHATEAU LES MERLES, MOULEYDIER
Thursday 8th December
Details with menu to follow in the November edition and on the website at the end of October
OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS
Gillian Beattie
Elizabeth Daverman
Maggie Fitzgerald
Helen Glover
Vyvyan Harris
Anne Lamont
Anne Needham
Carelle Sherwood
Philippa Tillyer
GARDENING IN FRANCE
By CHRISTINE LEES
Saving seeds
At this time of year you may find that you have some beanpods left on the plants, or sweet pea pods, or seedheads on your flowers. Even if you have been scrupulously deadheading through the summer, it is worthwhile now to leave flowers on your annuals and herbaceous plants in order to form seedheads so you can make more plants for next year.
The best time to collect seeds is when the seedheads are brown and just about to disperse seeds, and on a dry day. You will need to look frequently at the plants to identify this time. Sometimes it can be easier to put a paper bag over the seedhead on the plant, with a rubber band, to avoid missing the time when seed is expelled - especially with plants such as poppies.
When you are back inside, or in your greenhouse or shed, you can empty the seedheads onto a clean sheet of paper and separate the seeds from the plant material by using your fingers or a pencil, or if the seed is heavier than the chaff, by blowing onto it.
Then empty the seed into envelopes marked with the name and date. You can either sow in pots straight away, or keep in a cool dry place until the spring.
Seeds which can be successfully saved and grown in this way include hardy geraniums, poppies, hellebores, clematis, hemerocallis (day lilies), aquilegia, campanulas, most umbellifers, agapanthus, pulsatilla, eryngiums, and grasses. I have also successfully saved seeds from rudbeckias and echinaceas. The list is endless and it is worth trying to save seed from any plant you have - you have nothing to lose apart from a small amount of time and some compost.
Happy seed sowing!
Chris
SEPTEMBERS EVENTS
DLCI/DOGS GALA
On Thursday 15 September, over 50 DLCI members joined members of the Dordogne Organisation of Gentlemen (DOG) for a celebratory lunch to celebrate our significant anniversaries (36 and 35 respectively) at the magnificent Salle des Châteaux, Bistrot de Malfourat at La Tour des Vents in Monbazillac. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the view from the terrace over the vineyards of Monbazillac and Bergerac was amazing!
Harris Raphael, President of DOG, welcomed all guests and spoke of the founding of DOG in 1987. He was delighted that we were able to come together to commemorate the success of our two organisations and hoped that we would retain closer links in the future. He may be right – following the lunch, several DOG wives have joined DLCI and vice versa!
As we know, Jennifer de Chabaneix founded the Dordogne Ladies Club in 1986 and our current President, Kathy John, spoke about Jennifer’s life and vision for the club. We feel sure that she would have been pleased and proud that we remain one of the most active women’s associations in SW France.
The meal, overseen by Michelin starred chef, Damien Fagette, was extremely tasty, beautifully presented and with superb attention to detail. Service was discreet, friendly and efficient. Everyone present commented on the excellent quality of the lunch and the wine was much enjoyed. Each lady received a beautiful gift of chocolates, the presentation boxes hand-made by Isla Cathcart.
We held a raffle which was great fun and the winner of the star prize, a meal for two at the Bistrot, was DLCI member Laura Sankey.
We would like to thank Isla Cathcart and Eric Nagel, in particular, for their hard work and organisation of this successful event. Roll on the next 36 years!
Please see the fabulous photos of the Gala on the website
https://dlci.weebly.com/photo-gallery---gala-lunch---tour-des-vents.html
DOG – DORDOGNE ORDER OF GENTLEMEN
Following the joint DLCI/DOG Gala,several ladies have joined our club. At the same time several of our partners showed interest in DOG (both clubs were started by Jennifer albeit a year apart).
For more information on joining or finding out more about DOG, please can they contact Harris Raphael, President of DOG, who will be delighted to answer any questions
harris@pioneerfrance.com
A TALE FROM BYGONE COURT DAYS
Anon
One morning I am chairing a court where we have a group of youths charged with affray where baseball bats had played a minor part. We listened to the case and along with my colleagues made a decision and decided the sentence.
We returned to court and I read out the sentence finishing with the ruling that we were making an order for the confiscation of the baseball bat at which point one young man speaks up with the question
‘what does that mean?’
My response
‘It means if you are picked to play for the team on Saturday you will need to buy a new bat!’
I thought that was pretty good on the spur of the moment!
DORDOGNE LADIES BOOK CLUB
Extract chosen by Sue Morrison from The Other Queen
By Philippa Gregory
Date 1569, November,Tutbury Castle: Mary.
(Each chapter is in a different one of three voices, this being Mary, Queen of Scots, herself.)
At last! I think, Good God! At last! as I hear the bell tolling, and know at once that the war has started. At last they have come for me, and only a day to spare before I would have been kidnapped by that brute Hastings. I wake and dress, as fast as I can, my hands trembling with laces, and start to pack the things I must take with me, burning the letters from my ambassador, from my betrothed, from the Spanish ambassador, from his agent Ridolfi, from Bothwell. I wait for the countess or for Shrewsbury to come and beg me to hurry, hurry to run away from this castle that they cannot defend. I shall travel with them. I shall obey their orders. I dare not defy them and risk Hastings snatching me from them.
My only safety is to stay with Shrewsbury until my army catches us.
I won’t leave Shrewsbury until I am safe with my own army. I dare not. He has been my only friend in England, I have seen no other man that I can trust. And he has never been anything but kind to me. He has never been anything but honourable. A woman with a man like this at her side would be safe. God knows how much I long to be safe.
If this extract, or the news of the death of Hilary Mantel, has tempted you to read more of the historical novel genre, particularly set in the Tudor period, you may like to follow this link to find descriptions of 5 very different books by other authors.
https://fivebooks.com/best-books/tudor-historical-fiction-alison-weir/
If you are already a Facebook user, you can join in discussions on the 'Dordogne Ladies Book Club' private group. On there you will find notices, reviews of personal reading, plus any monthly choice of book & the subsequent joint reviews etc.
Just follow this link to the group and put in a request to join.
There is also an ongoing list of books recommended by members, which can be emailed to you periodically on request.
Lastly we will encourage and give all possible help to anyone wishing to start up a new meeting group, with a few friends, in their area.
For more information please email the DLCI Book Club Coordinator, Sue Morrison
Please see our website for further details
Monpazier Book Club
The book chosen by the Monpazier meeting-group to read during September is Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin. We plan to review it at our next meeting on the afternoon of Thursday 6th October and post our joint review plus score out of ten on the Facebook group ‘Dordogne Ladies Book Club’. For more information or to join please contact Sue Morrison at:
Sainte Foy Book Club
We will be meeting to discuss our choices on the 4th October.
Details of our latest reads will be available to view from the first week of September on the D L Book Club Facebook group. For more information please contact
Lin Green at:
Bergerac Book Club
Our next meeting will be on 18th October at Rody Chocolaterie, 5 Rue de Mourier Bergerac 10:30 am start. (Please note new time) and we will be discussing My name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Stroud.
We will be posting our evaluation and marks out of ten on the DL Book Club Facebook group.
For more information please contact Dawn Kidd at:
Just for fun
Best wishes and take care.
Sue Morrison DLCI Book Club Coordinator
Lin Green Organiser Sainte Foy Book Club
Dawn Kidd Organiser Bergerac Book Club
VILLARÉAL COFFEE GROUP
by Sue Morrison
The inaugural meeting of a Coffee Morning Group centred on Villeréal drew a dozen ladies to the delightful conservatory of Charlotte Halsby’s house at 39 rue Saint Michel on Thursday 22 September. Some members travelled quite a distance to join us. In the spirit of the ‘rentrée’ we were all delighted to meet-up with old and new members to discuss ideas for the format of this group. Enthusiasm spilled over at times to DLCI activities in general. We all enjoyed Charlotte’s hospitality, plus delicious cakes provided by Sheila Harrell (the recipes of which follow).
We all supported the formation of a Coffee Group meeting monthly on Thursdays. Our hostess shared her vision of a theme for each meeting, for example, the option of anyone who wishes to bringing an item of interest to talk about, or even sell. There was lively discussion about the social aspects of the DLCI and how to help members to get to know one-another and the new members that are now joining. This was helpful in exploring ideas prior to the AGM, which may be raised there for the new committee to consider.
It was agreed that the next meeting of this group should be on Thursday 3 November, from 10.30am to 12 noon and Charlotte has kindly offered to host it once again. If interested please see the DLCI Website and the November Magazine issue for further details – note that Coffee Morning Groups have been successfully meeting monthly in both Bergerac and Ste. Foy la Grande. We have Charlotte to thank for a very enjoyable get-together and Kathy for supporting the idea of something similar for us members in the South.
RECIPE OF THE MONTH
CLEMENTINE CAKE BY NIGELLA LAWSON
Sent in by Sheila Harrell (as requested by numerous members at Charlotte’s Coffee Club)
INGREDIENTS
Serves: 8-10
Approx. 375 grams clementines (approx. 4)
6 large eggs
225 grams white sugar
250 grams ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
METHOD
1. Put the clementines in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil, partially with the lid and cook for 2 hours.
2. Drain, discarding the cooking water, and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the pips.
3. Dump the clementine’s - skins, pith, fruit and all - and give a quick blitz in a food processor (or by hand, of course).
4. Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/190oC/170°C Fan/375oF.
5. Butter and line a 20cm / 8 inch Springform tin.
6. You can then add all the other ingredients to the food processor and mix. Or you can beat the eggs by hand adding the sugar, almonds and baking powder, mixing well, then finally adding the pulped oranges.
7. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for an hour,
when a skewer will come out clean; you'll probably have to cover with foil or greaseproof after about 40 minutes to stop the top burning.
8. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, on a rack, but in the tin.
9. When the cake's cold, you can take it out of the tin. I think this is better a day after it's made, but I don't complain about eating it at any time.
Best Chocolate Courgette Cake
Sent in by Sheila Harrell
PREP Time: 15 MINS | Total time: 1 HR 15 MINS | SERVES 4
Ingredients
250g plain flour
375g caster sugar
65g best quality cocoa powder
2 teaspoons bicarb of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 eggs
350ml Vegetable Oil
340g grated courgette
90g chopped walnuts
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Grease and flour a 20x30cm baking tin.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, bicarb, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and vegetable oil, mix well. Fold in the nuts and courgette until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared tin.
3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing with your favourite icing.
Taken from: https://sussed.ie/best-chocolate-courgette-cake/
HARVEST CELEBRATION
at L'eglise of Montauriol 47330
Charlotte Halsby has asked us to draw your attention to the above fund raiser for Feed the Hungry
Saturday 15 October at 15h00
This will be followed by Fun and Supper at L'Grange next to the Church
There will be a 3 Course Meal at a cost of 20e under 12's free
Please bring your own Couverts
There will be a Bar for Wine and Soft Drinks
All Profits will go to Feed The Hungry
Donations of non-perishable foods will be given to Secours Populaire, Castillonnes
Please reply to Tina Marshall-Cottam - tinamarshallcottam@gmail.com
before Monday 10th to reserve
MONTETON BOOK SALE
Saturday 22nd and Sundaye 23rd October
Held in the salle de fête
PETS CORNER
Hector’s first experience of the sea
Sent in by Kathy John
The 3 Musketeers!
Sent in by Kathy John
PHOTO REQUEST
We would love to include more of your photos including those for Pets Corner in the next Newsletter. Simply email me at DLCIMagazine@gmail.com (no later than25th of the month) with the photo and where it is. They will be published in the next months newsletter
LASTLY
Food for thought
PLEASE NOTE
Centralised email addresses have been created for DLCI committee members which will automatically forward any emails to the appropriate person in charge. https://dlci.weebly.com/contacts.html
WELFARE
If you have an accident and need help with transport, errands or some company during convalescence or if you know of another member who is unwell, has a bereavement, is suffering financial hardship or you think is going through a difficult patch. We will do all we can to provide support and we will be totally discreet. Please contact Isla at: DLCIWelfare@gmail.com
The DLCI WEBSITE ADDRESS IS :- www.dlci.club
EMAIL UPDATES, CHANGE OF ADDRESS, NAME/TEL NO.
If any members have changed their email, address or telephone number could they please let Rosemary Copley know at: DLCIMembers@gmail.com
DLCI COMMITTEE 2022 / 2023
Lin Green
Isla Cathcart
Jackie Colgate
Sheila Harrell
Rosemary Copley
Lin Green
Teresa Tildersley
Liz Davies
Isla Cathcart
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Membership Secretary
Magazine Editor
Events
Joint Events Co Ordinator
Welfare
Information and communications contained in this newsletter are accepted by the Committee in good faith. The DLCI cannot be held responsible for complaints arising from them.
All contributions to the newsletter should be sent to Lin Green at DLCIMagazine@gmail.com by the 25th of each month and we hope to have a new monthly issue to you on the 1st of every month to allow you time to plan your calendar.
A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS NEWSLETTER.
PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO CURRENT DATA PROTECTION LAWS THIS DOCUMENT MUST NOT BE SHARED WITH ANYONE WHO IS NOT A CURRENT DLCI MEMBER