DLCI 2023 Magazines - March
March
2023
A really lovely New Year’s card from one of last years charity beneficiaries (arrived the first week of February even though posted recommandé in December!
NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE PRESIDENT
Hello everyone,
Well Spring is nearly here with our gardens (and us) experiencing the polar opposites of lovely sunny days and freezing nights! The bulbs are pushing through and soon we’ll be awash with seasonal colour. The vines are being debudded and lets hope this year they have a bumper crop and the fickle weather behaves. Chris’ Gardening column has some great tips for pruning and I know she grows a lot of her own produce – which I’ve tried hard to emulate and must admit I thoroughly enjoy. I think I told (bored) everyone (many times) about our bumper tomato, butternut squash and cucumber crop!
In Committee news, Sheila Harrell our Treasurer is standing down at the end of our financial year in March. Our thanks go to her for all her efforts to get us to where we are today including setting up a new bank account – no easy task with an organisation - and new methods of payment. Thank you Sheila.
We are in the extremely fortunate position of having Liz Davies volunteering to pick up the Treasurer reins. She comes highly qualified and will take over fully in April.
In the meantime if any members would like to join me, Jackie, Liz, Rosemary, Marlies, Sharon and Sue on the Committee they would be very welcome. Committee contact emails are on the website as is the full members list with names, email address and location ( commune only ).
Finally we would like to slightly change the requirements for our charity nominations. We are now asking these to be small, local charities known to one or more of our members. These small charities are so appreciative of our efforts and are often poorly funded and overlooked in the grand scheme of things. On our website under the name of ‘Charity nominations’ you can nominate a chosen charity and complete the online form ie name, address, contact details and a short paragraph describing their purpose. I’m sure we all know of a cause worthy of our support.
In the meantime please put this date in your diary:
Friday 24th March Buckets Auberge Inn, 24230, Le Bourg, Montazeau
THIS LUNCH DATE IS NOW OPEN TO PARTNER/GUEST ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED BASIS.
PAYMENT AT THE RESTAURANT ON THE DAY
Talk by Nathalie Chalufour Organiser for the Gironde sector of Feminité sans abris (homeless women)
APRIL LUNCH at LES MARRONIERS
Date to be confirmed but towards the end of the month.
2 route de la vallée, 24150, Lanquais
Take care everyone
Lin x
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Friday 24th March, Buckets Auberge Inn, Le Bourg, 24230, Montazeau
THIS EVENT IS NOW OPEN TO GUEST/PARTNER
PAYABLE ON THE DAY AT THE RESTAURANT
Liz Davies, our Events Organiser, has arranged a talk by Natalie Chalufour, who is responsible for the secteur Gironde Féminité Sans Abri, an organisation that collects and distributes feminine toiletries to homeless and vulnerable women.
11.45 for 12 noon
25€ per person for a 3 course Lunch (chef’s choice fresh on the day) including an apéritif, 2 glasses of wine and coffee.
To begin with this will be a members only event. If we do not reach 38 covers we will then open the event to partner/ 1 guest on a first come first served basis – so please keep an eye on the website.
Please book via the Events page – booking form.
Liz Davies can be contacted via email to answer any questions arising.
We are, therefore, asking every person attending to donate some feminine products to FSA and bring them with you to the restaurant.
THESE PRODUCTS MUST BE SEALED AND IN DATE
Items required are:
Soap, Shower Gel, Shampoo, Mouthwash,
Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Tampax/ Pads
Facecream, Body Cream
Make up remover pads, Cotton wool pads/balls, Paper tissues, Hairbrush, Razors, Nail varnish, Nail polish remover
Emery boards, Foundation, Blush, Mascara, Eye Shadow, Lipstick
End of April (date to be confirmed shortly)
Lunch at Les Marroniers
GARDENING IN FRANCE
BY CHRISTINE LEES
Winter Pruning
The garden is starting to feel as though spring is on the way, despite the cold nights. If you haven't already done so, there is still time to prune roses and free standing fruit trees.
Different kinds of roses require pruning in different ways, but they all need to have dead, diseased or crossing stems pruned out first. My roses are all shrub roses, either old pre-20th century roses or David Austin 'English' roses or other modern shrub roses. In theory you do not need to prune shrub roses at all, but they will quickly get overcrowded and possibly damaged when it is windy. Cut out about 30% of the growth, aiming to get rid of all small twiggy stems and stems growing into the centre of the bush. I cut back to a good strong outward facing bud, so the airflow is better and you are less likely to get diseases. I follow with rose fertiliser (which is repeated after first flowering in May) and mulch around the bush, making sure the ground is moist.
If you have hybrid tea (large flowered) roses or floribunda (cluster flowered) roses, you can prune them in a similar way but cut back by a third or half of the original length.
If you are not sure which group your rose falls into, use a plant identification App to get the name or google the name if you know it then look at the RHS website.
Standard roses (on one long stem) should not be hard pruned but you should aim to produce a cup shape.
Climbing and rambling roses should be identified first as the growth patterns are different and the pruning quite complex and you risk losing a year's flowers. Look at the RHS website for detailed guidance.
Free-standing fruit trees including apples, pears and other non-stone fruits can also be pruned now before the leaves open. Check the RHS website for detailed guidance. Follow with fruit fertiliser and mulch the soil around the tree, watering first. You can also now get mats to place around the trunk of the tree to prevent weed growth during the summer.
Good luck with the pruning and remember spring is nearly here!
RECIPE OF THE MONTH
HARISSA CHICKEN
(from Good Housekeeping September 2022 with some adaptations) for 4 people
Sent in by Chris Lees
1tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 and a half tbsp harissa paste
8 chicken thighs with skin removed
400g tin tomatoes
finely grated zest and juice of half a lemon, kept separate
50g dried apricots, finely chopped
400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed large handful coriander or flat parsley, roughly chopped
1. Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan over low heat and fry the onion for 10 min, until softened. Stir in the garlic, cumin, harissa and some seasoning. Cook for 1 min, until aromatic.
2. Add the chicken and fry for 3 min before adding the tomatoes, lemon zest, apricots and 200ml water. Turn up the heat, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 min, until reduced.
3. Stir the chickpeas, lemon juice and most of the coriander or parsley into the stew and check seasoning. Garnish with remaining herbs and serve with rice or flatbreads and green vegetable.
More recipes please!
Photo, ingredients and method
Recipes can be yours or those from a favourite author, cook, chef – those should be acknowledged.
In addition If anyone has a recipe using a slow cooker or an air fryer that would be great!
Please send to Lin at : DLCIMagazine@gmail.com
MARCH BIRTHDAYS
Pascale Bizet
Ruth Brand
Marie Brossard
Luisa Carel
Jackie Colgate
Liz Davies
Brenda Howard
Kathy John
Athene Logan
Dana Manier
Carolyn Nagel
Michelle Roberts
Barbara Shepherd
Yveline Ulrich
Gabrielle Visser
SENT IN BY KATHRYN CARR
DORDOGNE LADIES BOOK CLUB
Excerpt sent in by Sue Morrison
Hi, Iʼm reading this book and wanted to share this quote with you.
Trio
by William Boyd
"People come to us, us novelists, looking for information.’ ‘About what?’ ‘About other people. About all the other people in the world. What we’re thinking, what we need, what we dream about, what we hate. What makes us tick, basically. People are opaque, utterly mysterious. Even those dearest to us are closed books. If you want to know what human beings are like, actually like, if you want to know what’s going on in their heads behind those masks we all wear – then read a novel.’ She stopped, a bit astounded at her peroration"
For details on the three DLCI Book Clubs please go to the Book Club area by scrolling down on the home page.
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.
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 sue.morrison.france@gmail.com
Best wishes and take care
Sue Morrison DLCI Book Club Coordinator and Organiser Monpazier Book Club
Lin Green Organiser Sainte Foy Book Club
Dawn Kidd Organiser Bergerac Book Club
PETS CORNER
Bertie loving life at one of his favourite places
Sent in by Teresa Tildesley
Ginger a sweet Cavapoo adopted by Rosemary
Sent in by Rosemary Copley
From an apartment to 12 Hectares in one easy step!!!
Archie and Smoky relaxing - sometimes in unusual places!
Sent in by Chris Lees
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 than 25th of the month) with the photo and where it is. They will be published in the next months newsletter
LASTLY
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
ROALD DAHL SAGA
I think this is worth including in the magazine as the power of the people seems to have prevailed. Rather than losing the original versions of Dahl’s books the publisher is now offering the censored versions as an option. The latter, apparently, is to be highlighted as changed.
Censorship of books is a slippery slope – who are the censors and what gives them the right to decide what we may or may not read? We all have minds and can make our own decisions. If we don’t like a story or the way the author uses language then we don’t have to read it BUT we must have the opportunity to make up our own minds. I remember vividly (and being mindful of age appropriate books) being asked by two parents of 9 year olds to remove ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ from the school library because Aslan dies!
Publisher Puffin has now announced two classic editions of the writer's books will be published after outrage over the news the collection would be edited to remove or rewrite language deemed offensive.
The 17 titles will be available later this year and will include archive material relevant to each of the stories by the much-loved but controversial children's author.
The classic collection will sit alongside the newly-released Dahl books for young readers, which have been rewritten to "cater for the sensitivities of modern audiences".
Puffin sparked outrage after announcing Dahl's books would be edited to remove or rewrite language deemed offensive, a move branded "absurd censorship" by author Sir Salman Rushdie.
EDITS TO ROALD DAHL'S CLASSICS
Hundreds of edits have reportedly been made to the latest editions of Roald Dahl's classics a few of which were printed by The Daily Telegraph…
The Cloud-Men in James and the Giant Peach are now the Cloud-People, while references to Rudyard Kipling and Joseph Conrad in Matilda had been changed to Jane Austen and John Steinbeck.
In The Witches, a reference to women "working as a cashier in a supermarket or typing letters for a businessman" has been changed to "working as a top scientist or running a business".
In James and the Giant Peach, Miss Sponge is no longer described as "the fat one", Miss Spider's head is no longer "black" and the Earthworm no longer has "lovely pink" skin but "lovely smooth skin".
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Augustus Gloop is now described as “enormous” rather than “enormously fat”.
In The Twits, Mrs Twit is no longer described as “ugly and beastly” but just “beastly”.
*****
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the editing, quoting the Big Friendly Giant's warning not to "gobblefunk" with words.
The Roald Dahl Story Company, which controls the rights to the books, said it had worked with Puffin to review and revise the texts.
"The last few days have demonstrated just how important Roald Dahl's stories are to fans all around the world and we've been deeply moved by the strength of feeling.
"The most important thing to us is that the stories continue to be enjoyed by all."
The plan to print two editions of the book will "give readers - whether seven or 77 - the choice to explore the stories in whichever way they wish", the company added.
They haven’t added if there will be a price difference!
PLEASE NOTE
Centralised email addresses have been created for DLCI committee members which will automatically forward any emails to the appropriate person in charge.
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 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 Sue at: DLCIWelfare@gmail.com
EMAIL UPDATES, CHANGE OF ADDRESS, NAME/TEL NO.
If any members have changed their email, address or telephone number could they please let Rosemary know at: DLCIMembers@gmail.com
DLCI COMMITTEE 2023
Please refer to the Contacts page
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