DLCI 2024 Magazines - May
The committee are definitely in Spring mode!
Sent in by Sue Fairweather
Sent in by Sharon Lawson
Just a little update on Dawn Kidd as we have been approached by several members enquiring about her welfare.
Dawn as many of you already know has been one of our most active members with the Bergerac Book Club and our Welfare arm. Following her return from her travels she became quite ill and was hospitalised. She is now at home in the UK and is unable to return to France at the moment.
We send her all our love and support and hopefully a little sunshine too.
Kathy John has been kind enough to be the organising contact for Bergerac Book Club in Dawn’s absence.
Lin x
NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE PRESIDENT
Hello everyone.
Well I seem to start off every magazine lately with an update on the weather! As the forecast bears absolutely no resemblance to what is actually happening, I have taken the irrevocable step to plant my tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, melons and celery outside….let battle commence!
Moving on to Club news, we had another full complement at the wonderfully traditional Auberge Jolibois. We all had a great time, with lots of laughter and good food, and finally staggered out past 3pm!
Which brings me neatly to our next lunch at the wonderful Les Marronniers in Lanquais on the 30th May, we all had such a fantastic time there last year. This time Pawprints Association will give a talk about their work (which is now even more important since Acorn Association disbanded) and we are asking members if they can bring a donation either in the form of food, litter, beds, bedding, in fact anything animal related.
Mentioning charities, we had a delightful email, with receipt, from Maryse at unisvers-contrecancer, one of this year’s charities, thanking us all for our generosity.
Bonsoir Lin,
J'ai tout simplement oublié de vous transmettre un reçu pour votre don. Soyez remerciées -toutes les Ladies- pour votre générosité. Avec peu, vous faites beaucoup. C'est le grand cœur du modèle anglais.
Nos collectes continuent avec un peu moins de bouchons.
Vous êtes toujours solidaires de beaux projets et belles actions; c'est tout à votre honneur.
Merci encore à toutes!
Amicalement,
Maryse
Finally our Coffee group in Perigueux goes from strength to strength and we’re really looking forward to meeting everyone in the coming months.
Thank you Dejana
Have a wonderful warm and dry May and we hope to see you soon.
Take care
Lin xx
Pawprint Association helps support and re-home abandoned animals in the Eymet area (24, 47 and sometimes beyond!). A particular emphasis for us is helping combat the huge surplus of unwanted kittens in our rural areas produced by unchecked cat colonies by promoting and aiding sterilisation campaigns. In addition to our work with cats and kittens, our team of volunteers aims to support all animals in distress, from dogs to birds and everything in between. We facilitate veterinary support to all animals in need and aim to never say no when an animal needs food, shelter or veterinary care.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Thursday 30th May – Lunch at the wonderful Auberge Les Marronniers, plus a presentation from Pawprint Association.
12 noon 25€ per person
Guest/partner welcome
MENU
Lentilles en vinaigrette, roquette et chips de poitrine plate
***
Araignée de cochon et pommes pailles
***
Tarte myrtilles amandine
***
250ml pichets (rouge, rosé ou blanc) ou boissons non alcoolisées inclusiv
Click here to book
Thursday 27th June – Wine tasting and Lunch – Chateau Fayolle
July – to be arranged
August – no events planned – too hot
Thursday September 26th - AGM (members only) to be held in Salle Jean Barthe followed by lunch at O Braises Rouges, Bergerac
Wednesday October 16th – GRAND DLCI QUIZ – (FUND RAISER)
November – Lunch in Perigeux
Saturday December 7th - DLCI CHRISTMAS FAIR at Château La Tilleraie, Lieu-dit, Bergerac, 24100. 10.00am – 7.00pm (FUND RAISER)
Thursday December 12th – Christmas Luncheon at Chateau les Merles
January – Chinese New Year Lunch
February – Horse Racing Night! (FUND RAISER)
THE WINE CLUB
Our collaborators, Chateau la Tilleraie are holding their next wine tasting on Thursday 23rd May at 7pm.
This will be in the format of a garden party held in the superb Chateaux grounds.
To make a reservation please contact the chateau direct – grace@chateaulatilleraie.com
or telephone Grace on 06 50 48 21 45
You will know a lot of people there!
A WARM WELCOME TO ALL OUR NEW MEMBERS IN APRIL
Nicole Gilkeson Chancelande
Alexandra Hudson Moulin Neuf
MAY BIRTHDAYS
Sue Fairweather
Greta Knott
Laura Sankey
Anne Sidoux
Omayma Soubra
Freya Williams
Raina Willick
GARDENING IN FRANCE
By CHRISTINE LEES
Making a cut flower bed
It's expensive to buy flowers in France, and unless you have a lot of flowers in your garden, it's a shame to spoil your display.
You can set aside a small area, perhaps in your vegetable garden, to grow flowers for cutting which will be producing until the first frosts. You can grow bulbs in it - in the autumn you could plant daffodils and tulips for cutting next spring.
Applying garden compost or well rotted manure or leaf mould will suppress weeds, and provide a good base for your plants. At this time of year you can plant gladioli bulbs and dahlia corms which will hopefully provide flowers for years to come.
You can sow annual flower seeds in drills in the bed, or for more certainty about the outcome, sow in seed trays or small pots in seed compost (pour semer) in the greenhouse or conservatory or on sunny window sills. The following annuals make good cut flowers - Cosmos, Antirrhinum (snapdragons), Ammi majus (white flat flowerheads similar to cow parsley), Scabious, Sweet Williams , tobacco plants, cornflowers, marigolds, larkspurs, love in a mist (NIgella) and poppies and sunflowers. Zinnias make lovely cut flowers but should not be planted out until mid-May. You can also often buy trays of annuals from garden centres in spring.
Keep the plants well weeded and watered and keep picking the flowers to get a succession of blooms.
When you pick your flowers, choose a cool part of the day - early morning or evening and place them in cool water immediately, eg in a bucket which you carry around with you. It's best to cut with secateurs with the longest stem possible.
Happy gardening!
Chris
RECIPE OF THE MONTH
ASPARAGUS CARBONARA
A traditional Carbonara with a Spring twist
by Gennara Contaldo
INGREDIENTS
320g asparagus
320g dried linguine
3tbsp extra virgin oil
60g diced pancetta
6 medium free range egg yolks
80g finely grated pecorino plus extra to sprinkle
METHOD
Remove and reserve the woody stems from the asparagus then finely chop the remaining stems leaving the tips intact
Put a large pan of salted water over a high heat and add the woody stems. When the water starts to boil lift out the stems and discard. Add the linguine and cook until al dente.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the pancetta and cook for 2 – 3 minutes until it begins to colour. Add the asparagus stems and tips and stir fry for about 3 minutes until cooked.
In a bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks, then stir in a little black pepper and the pecorino. Drain the cooked linguine (reserving a cup of the pasta water) and add to the frying pan. Mix the pasta, pancetta and asparagus together well, adding a splash of the hot pasta water to bind. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the egg mixture until everything is well combined and silky. Serve immediately with extra black pepper and grated pecorino
DORDOGNE LADIES BOOK CLUB
Excerpt chosen by Annette Marshall
A TERRIBLE KINDNESS
by Jo Browning Wroe
At first glance a novel about the worst mining disaster Wales experienced, family love, family loss, post-traumatic stress disorder and embalming look like a strange and complex collection of topics to cover in a novel. It probably wouldn’t have called me in but it was the choice of my book group in Bristol, so I read it. And I am so glad that I did. What a joy, challenge to the senses, and emotional roller coaster it was, whilst also being gentle and compassionate. The novel is a beautiful way to cover such complex issues.
William is a newly qualified embalmer in 1966 when he volunteers for a dreadful task to help with the embalming post the Aberfan disaster. Following on from this we follow his life moving forwards and backwards through his experiences, sadnesses, and loves. He has a beautiful innocence about him, but also an insufferable stubbornness which was at times frustrating. The final chapters bring the story together with what I felt initially was a bit ‘tidy’ but in fact was the only and best way to finish the story.
Like most of you I’m sure, I am an avid reader and rarely does a novel bring me to tears, but this did several times. It is a beautiful novel written with love and compassion. I shall wait eagerly for another novel by Jo.
Excerpt: Part 1 Aberfan
October 1966
Something dreadful happened in Wales yesterday; but it was William’s graduation and so he has been distracted. He left the Thames College of Embalming with outstanding and unprecedented results. Tonight, is the annual social highlight for the Midland’s Chapter of the Institute of Embalmers, the Ladies Dinner Dance in Nottingham. To celebrate William’s success, and equip him for his first social highlight, Uncle Robert has bought him a dinner suit and bow tie. Aged nineteen, William is a little excited, but mostly terrified by the news from his uncle that their president, David Melling, is going to ensure that a fuss is made of him.
Fifty miles from home in Birmingham, William will spend his first night in a hotel; the Lace Market, along with Uncle Robert and his business partner, Howard. Sharing a table with them are the Strouds, an undertaking family from Solihull, and on William’s left, the only other person his age, Gloria Finch., also from an undertaking family, with whom William lodged during his year at college in Stepney. Glorious Gloria, whom William has loved from their first conversation a year ago, drinking cocoa in the Finches’ galley kitchen, while her parents watched telly in the lounge. Tonight, she’s wearing a tight black dress with sequins, through which her whole body seems to be winking at William.
For details on the DLCI Book Clubs please go to the Book Club area by scrolling down on the home
We will be posting our evaluation and marks out of ten on the DL Book Club Facebook group
Sainte Foy Book Club
Details of our latest reads can be found on the D L Book Club Facebook group.
For more information please contact
Lin Green at: Lin.green100@gmail.com
Bergerac Book Club
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: kathyjohn0803@gmail.com
JUST FOR FUN
*****
BOOK GROUP
By Brian Bilston
The last Thursday of every month was book group,
When the books met to discuss Graham.
‘It’s no fun here any more’ remarked Bleak House glumly.
‘Why doesn’t he read us?’ whined the Grapes of Wrath. ‘It makes me do angry!’
‘I’m sure he only bought me so he can show me off to his friands’ complained Ulysses, in a stream of self-consciousness.
‘I bet he can’t even remember my name, The Idiot’ muttered a voive from the Russian literature section.
‘That’s because he avoids you like The Plague’ said another.
‘C’est vrai!’ came a cry ‘It’s like I do not exist!’
‘Let’s not give up on him yet’ It was ‘Brave New World’
After some Persuasion they agreed to give him one last chance.
‘Be quiet!’ cried Waiting for Godot with Great Expectation.
‘Here he comes now!’
Graham entered the room, with his phone.
He sat down and watched a video of some baby pandas falling over.
After an hour or so he started googling cats dressed as celebrities.
On the shelf the books waited with uncracked spines,
Their silence speaking volumes.
Lin
Best wishes and take care.
Kathy John Organiser Bergerac Book Club
Lin Green Organiser Sainte Foy Book Club
MEMBERS EVENTS
ROYAL BRITISH LEGION BOOK FAIR
PHOENIX BOOK FAIR
Saturday 11th May
ROYAL BRITISH LEGION D DAY EVENT
Saturday 8th June
This special D Day event is being sponsored by BLEVIN FRANKS Bergerac office.
On the 8th June we are holding a celebration event in the Salle des Fete Loubes Bernac 47120 for the 80th anniversary of D Day. The event will be a bring your own indoor picnic, The doors will open at 6.30 and the entertainment will start at 7.00 pm and continue to 10.00 pm with a midway break of approx 30-45 minutes. There will be a bar serving tea/coffee and wine before the start and during the break. There will be tables and chairs set out for people to enjoy their picnic. The entry fee will be 10€ per person and the numbers are limited so I would advise if you are interested in attending please call 0752049894 or email keith.stevens47120@hotmail.com
to reserve your place.
PETS CORNER
Lizzie enjoying spring with a new toy!
Sent in by Elli Downer
Lulu sunbathing …….
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
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 Vyvyan know at: DLCIMembers@gmail.com
DLCI COMMITTEE 2024
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