Netherfield

Netherfield Village Hall Jumble Sale: If you have any Jumble you would like to donate our next full Sale will take place on 6 October 2018 between 10 and 12 am. We can arrange to collect or it can be taken to the Hall on the day before. All are invited for the bargains that will be available and there could be that hidden antique that the Antiques Roadshow tells you is worth a fortune for which you paid 50p. See you there..

Netherfield Village Hall Library Service: The refurbishment of the interior of the Hall has nearly finished, which means the Library will be open for business again on Wednesday 3 October 2018, between 2-4pm. There will be a great choice on offer so come along and pick a book to read at your leisure, bring it back and then get another. What could be better?

Pass & Move at the Netherfield Village Hall: The tie up with Pass & Move offering Sunday football to the children of the area begins this weekend. The grass has been cut and the pitch has been marked with white lines. The new metal goal posts have been put together and are ready to be placed in position for the game to begin.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

What could be better on a Sunday morning than kicking a ball up and down a football pitch, being watched by your parents, with a referee making decisions of which you are never going to agree. Then when the game has finished you tuck into a bacon or sausage roll, or a veggie burger and then hold court, telling everyone how your part in the proceedings helped your team win the tie. Isn’t that what Sunday morning football is all about? It is unless you lose the match.

Claverham Monday Badminton Club: You can never tell how many will arrive to take part in the Monday badminton ritual. It is almost similar to picking winners on the lottery. In other words you never can tell. This week there were 16 players utilising the facilities on offer at Claverham. That meant that 4 courts were constantly in action during the first hour and because of other commitments by a couple of players, three for the next. There was even the welcome return of Sandra, who during the summer takes advantage of the fresh air that stoolball offers her. She showed that the skills she has acquired in both games have not left her, over the many years she has been playing both sports as she celebrates her 21st birthday yet again.

My week started off badly, when, after arriving at the Centre, I went to retrieve my rackets from the boot of my car and suddenly remembered I had forgotten to put them back in that position. Luckily, I do not live far away so was able to collect the tools of my pleasure and return fairly swiftly to the court. Unfortunately, that seemed to affect my game quite badly and for some unknown reason I was hardly able to hit a shot for the first hour. Mind you, it could be that I am not as good as I thought I once was.

Never min it is the taking part that is important.

What was a bonus this week was the arrival of a new member, Aidan, who decided to give us a try. Let us hope that this is the start of a regular visit to our club. In fact, why don’t you come along and join us? It is 8-10 on a Monday evening and all you need to do is turn up. It is £5 per head for the evening and you will get fit, or, if you already are, maintain that fitness in the future. I look forward to it. Just ask for Roy or Maurice.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Reflections on a garden: The grapes are ready to pick. I was reminded of this by the fact that my mate John has given me his bunches to include in our Chateau Strydont, a wine modeled on the age-old practices developed in the ever popular wine-growing regions of the Arctic and Antarctic. We have both a red and a white and their sweetness at the moment is au-point. For those of you that do not count French as their first language, then it is possible that I could tell you anything about the meaning of that terminology and you would not know the difference. Comme ci comme ca is therefore all about trade without the RCE after comme. This is not only an informative column it is almost like going back to school. I am glad nobody reads this rubbish.

Anyway, after picking the harvest we then, that is my good lady and I, have to press the grapes. If you like your wine without liquid or creases then an electric iron can be good for this operation. However, we prefer the wine-press method prior to putting into our fermenting barrels. We do let the natural yeasts in the skins rest for a while in the grape juice in order the re-enforce the red colour and begin the natural fermentation process. Then it is 6 months before it can be bottled. We have been doing this for nearly fifteen years and have seen a substantial increase in the number of bottles produceeeeed hiccup heeeeree.

We are still reaping the harvest of our greens, both spinach and chard, which have done us proud over the summer and continue to supply that organic hit to our meals. The variety of different colours that adorn the lines of chard leaves add additional interest to risottos and other pasta dishes alike. As a base on which to place a fricassee of cod with gently cooked, small everlasting onions and some wild mushrooms, you have a dinner dish fit for a King or Queen. What makes it even more special is the ease of access to the really fresh produce, picked and plucked from the garden 10-15 mins before you cook the meal. What more could you ask for?

We have also got to do some remedial work on the pond. Apart from returning a lily to the soil at the bottom we have a potential build-up of soil or detritus on one side of the waterfall. This is causing the water to overflow down one side. I am sure the actions needed to address the situation and restore the pond to good order is minimal but it is fitting it in in an ever-increasing schedule of jobs to do. Oh well, never a dull moment.

More next week........

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Contact: If you have any stories or articles of interest that will give our readership a reason to buy the paper please contact me on email at [email protected]. Call 01424838410 and ask for Maurice or text 07957588172