news from monkton wyld
court
summer 2010
This summer we welcome Noah,
our community's newest (youngest,
smallest, cutest) member, and
wish our Stephen
all the best in the big wide
world of dance. Many wonders
ahead for them both, and we're
honoured to be a part of
it.
In other news, the Court's
programme of workshops, courses
and events continues to grow and
develop. Our social calendar's
really starting to fill up, what
with the Movies Night launching
in June, the Dinner and Music
events (performers wanted!),
Local Lunches, Knit & Stitch,
bimonthly Garden Work Weeks and
more. In coming months we look
forward to putting finishing
touches on a residential
programme for students, spurred
on by successful visits from
school groups of all ages. Garden
and Kindy are blossoming as well
(details below). All that
and B&B,
volunteering and camping: more
than enough reasons to come and
see us soon! We look forward to
it.
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Upcoming Courses and
Events
Phone 01297 560342 or email to
book!
Introduction to
Beekeeping
with David Wiscombe
8 - 10 June, 22 - 24 June
§
Local Lunch
9 June, 14 July, 11 August
§
Knit & Stitch
9 & 23 June, 14 & 28
July, 11 & 26 August
free
§
Storytelling Workshop and
Performance
with Livia Morvay
12 June
workshop & lunch 10 - 4,
dinner & performance from 7pm
part of the Dinner &
Music monthly series of family
events for the local
community
§
with Leo Rutherford
18 - 20 June
§
Monkton Movies LAUNCH!
with informal discussion (and
cake)
22 June
free
§
Herbs and Wild and Medicinal
Plants
with Juliet Fishbourne
25 - 27 June
§
Scything Weekend
with Simon Fairlie
2 - 4 July
§
Moth Night
with Alan Kennard
16 July
free
§
Little Bit Rock &
Roll
with Steve Piper
16 July from 7pm
part of the Dinner &
Music monthly series of family
events for the local
community
Bushcraft Family Week
with Jonathan Huet of Walk With
Trees and Mary Elliott
9 - 14 August
§
Bats in the Belfry
a biodiversity evening event
with Jan Freeborn
11 August
free
§
Theatre Family Week
23 - 28 August
§
Back to Fool
with Stella Shaw
Explore the card of
beginnings through improvisation
and gentle body work
17 - 19 September
§
Wild Food in Autumn
with Clio Wondrausch
17 - 19 September
§
Latest listings always
available on our website.
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Lyme Regis Morris
Dancers (and more May Fayre
photos on Flickr!)
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Events Report
May Fayre
Despite the not so sunny start
to our May Fayre, there was still
a positive turn out of people and
lots of fun to be had on the day
celebrating Beltane, the pagan
festival of the coming of summer,
fertility, growth and change.
Many thanks, once again, to
all the people who helped make it
a magical day. These include Kit
Berry (author of Magus of
Stonewylde), Laienda
who gave a fantastic
performance of live gypsy folk
music (Nina, I hope all went
well with the birth of your
baby :)), Sara Coffield – for
her inspirational music, for
‘being there’ and for
spreading ‘fairy love’!! To
the Lyme Regis Morris Dancers,
for their wonderful dancing,
Mandara Arts – for Kate’s
beautiful performance, to
Jyoti and Dai for lending (and
helping put up) the Marquee,
to all the stall holders for
coming and selling a wonderful
array of ointments, jams, MW
pottery, jewellery, weaved
baskets, drawings, handknitted
multicoloured jumpers and to
Hannah, for the lovely food,
but especially the delicious
vegetarian chilli, wedges and
salad (all organic!), not to
mention the great selection of
cakes!! Yummy!! :)
And, of course, to the MWC
Community and Trustees for their
consistent hard work and
support,
Much Love,
Ali x
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Hannah
taking a moment away from the hot
stove
Old Kitchen Diary
seasonal thoughts and recipes
from Hannah
I can’t believe it’s May! I
can’t believe it’s May! Sorry, I
thought it bore repeating. Can
you believe it? I’ve been living
and working at Monkton for four
months now and I’m just about
getting to grips with all the
pleasures and challenges of life
in the Monkton kitchen.
We’ve had some great successes
in the kitchen, particularly our
first family weeks of the season
(my first ever!), and the lovely
May Fayre held a few weeks ago
during which we produced over a
hundred platefuls of food for our
guests and visitors, and sold a
very great deal of cake! Garden
produce is still pouring into the
kitchen, especially all things
green; in fact we can hardly keep
up with the salad, and my mind is
often filled with ideas of what I
will cook when the seedlings I
see now start to bear fruit. I’m
especially looking forward to
preparing the tomatoes and
cucumbers that are going to come
out of our brand new polytunnel
which we all worked together to
put up.
The long cold spring has set
back a lot of local vegetable
production but now the summer
vegetables are starting to appear
on our menu, bought from our
lovely local veg supplier,
Somerset
Organic Link, who provide
what we can’t grow ourselves,
such as locally grown peppers
(yes, already!). Many thanks
to the team at SOL! We’ve also
had a new boiler installed,
connected to our solar water
heating system, so we had a
day during which the kitchen
was out of action. We all
picnicked together on the lawn
on fresh salads and cheese
sandwiches. Sometimes the
simplest meals are the best,
especially when shared.
The chickens have been
outdoing themselves lately, so
we’ve been eating cakes and
quiche galore. A particular hit
was my cardamom syrup
sponge, a recipe I’ve
been using for years that’s
always popular. It’s a super-rich
and sweet syrupy cake but the
cardamom flavour adds a
sophisticated quirk;
For the
sponge
100g self-raising white flour
100g unrefined cane sugar
100g salted butter
1 large egg
For the syrup
1 pint water
a handful of cardamom pods
100g sugar
- Slowly melt the butter in a
pan then, still on the heat,
stir in the sugar until it is
well dissolved and smells
deliciously buttery. Remove
from the heat and allow to
cool.
- Whisk the egg with a fork
until well combined and
slightly fluffed up. Stir into
the cooled butter and sugar
mixture.
- Weigh out the flour into a
large mixing bowl and slowly
fold the wet ingredients into
the dry. When well combined,
pour into a lined cake tin and
bake immediately in a medium
hot oven until nicely golden
and a skewer inserted into the
middle comes out dry and clean
(probably about 30 minutes…I’m
afraid I rarely cook on this
scale so I can’t say for sure
how long it will take!).
- Leave the cake to cool in
the tin (at least a few hours),
then carefully turn it out onto
a board or plate.
- Remove the greaseproof
paper from the cake (it will
probably have to be peeled
slowly off) and replace the
cake in the tin.
- Cut the cake into slices in
the tin.
- To make the syrup, put the
water, sugar and cardamom pods
in a small pan on a high heat.
Boil for about 15 minutes,
stirring frequently, then pour
the syrup all over the cake
(still in the tin) and wait
while the cake slurps it all
up!
Now it’s your turn…slurp
slurp…
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Lynden
and Loo
Projects Report
The New Loo Review
We've a whole new reason to be
houseproud this summer as the
finishing touches are applied to
our all-new compost toilet. We
like to think it's one of the
best of its kind (a brave claim
in this neighbourhood!). Some of
its exciting features
include...
-
locally sourced (not ten
minutes walking!) and milled
timber,
-
Separett toilet seat
donated by Kernowratt,
-
foot-pump powered
rainwater handwashing,
-
nitrogen-catching
strawbale,
-
handcrank- and
solar-powered light (and
radio), and
-
various reused and
refashioned unique design
features!
And there's more to come,
including stained glass windows
and handmade tile roof. This is
indeed a work in progress, an
organically developing project,
and it goes without saying that
visitors' contributions are
welcome!
We would like to express our
deepest thanks to Malcolm Drew
for his contributions of time,
insight and dedication (and for
letting us borrow so many of his
ideas!), to the participants of
our first Compost Loo
Design-and-Build course, and to
Ourganics
and the Rainbow family, for
letting us drop in and admire
their toilets this spring. If
you're interested in designing
and building your own compost
loo,
drop us a line and we'll let
you know when we schedule our
next course.
More photos on Flickr!
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the team hard at work on
the new polytunnel
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Gardener's Grove
by Rachael Moss
Summer is finally here,
blessing us with much sunshine
and heat, however, very little
rain. The rain we have had,
though, was such a joy to
receive, and the plant-life has
surged into growth, practically
glowing with rejuvenation and
life.
The first swallows were
spotted on the first of April and
they have now returned to their
homes in the cowsheds and bat
roost. Sadly, the nests in the
toolshed have been abandoned. It
is wonderful to see many bees,
gladdening the ears with their
gentle humming, drifting from
flower to flower. Unfortunately,
most species of butterflies,
apart from the pesky cabbage
white, seem to be a rarity so far
this year. The gorgeous wild
orchids in a neighbour's field,
however, have been blooming
happily.
Things have been moving
forward here at the gardens in
Monkton Wyld Court. We have had
an area of land outside the
vegetable garden ploughed and
rotovated and it is now home to
various varieties of spuds
awaiting the arrival of leeks and
yacon. This will increase the
amount of vegetables that we can
grow and we should hopefully be
able to supply local people with
a weekly vegetable box as well as
food for our hungry residents and
quests.
A new polytunnel has also been
erected and is now home to
tomatoes, to be joined with
cucumbers, melons, aubergines and
chilli peppers. These will be
underplanted with lettuces.
Our other two polytunnels are
currently full of salad
vegetables and plants awaiting
planting outside. These will be
used for more unsual plants such
as New Zealand Yam (Oca,
producing edible tubers and
leaves), Chinese yam (a climbing
plant producing large edible
tubers), Basella (producing
spinach-like edible leaves), and
salad.
We have many varieties of
squash plants sprawling
themselves about. Some of these
will be wandering underneath the
magnificent looking purple
sweetcorn, helping to suppress
weeds, hold moisture, and raise
the yield within that vegetable
bed. Peas will be added to the
mix, climbing up the sweetcorn
and also adding nitrogen to the
soil. This particular form of
plant companionship is common in
traditional native American
agriculture.
Our carrots are totally
surrounded by onions which act as
a barrier to repel carrot fly,
whilst the ants are busy farming
aphids for their sweet secretions
on a guilder rose and a yellow
foxglove, marching up and down,
keeping everything in order.
Our broad beans are looking
very glamourous, displaying
themselves all along the garden
path, enjoying the compliments
they receive from visitors. Our
stunningly beautiful red-flowered
broad beans are shyly hiding in
the forest garden to avoid
cross-pollination from the rather
ordinary white-flowered beans. We
hope to save the seed from
these.
The root vegetable bed is full
of beetroot, parsnip, turnip,
swede, salisfy, and scorzonera
seedlings springing into growth,
whilst the chard and spinach is
also bursting forth.
Brassicas – broccoli, kale,
cabbage, sprouts and cauliflower
are almost ready for
transplanting where celery and
celeriac will join them to act as
a repellent to cabbage white
butterflies.
More globe artichokes are to
be planted, chilli peppers,
cucumbers and melons are to be
planted, the runner beans are to
be planted out and supported with
sturdy bamboo canes and more
flowers are to be placed around
the garden to gracefully adorn it
with more beauty and scent,
attracting beneficial insects
too.
The soil is now looking
marvellous having been fed
generous amounts of horse manure,
leaf mould and compost, and this
should hopefully be reflected in
healthy strong, great tasting
crops.
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Chicken Report
Catherine Siddell
There have been some changes
in the lives of our chickens!
After much discussion we now let
them free range! Chickens love
grass and there is lots outside
their run. The first thing they
do when we let them out (about
2pm to allow for egg laying in
the hen house during the morning)
is to eat lots of lovely grass!
During the dry spell the mud in
their run has turned to dust.
Chickens love a dust bath as it
helps to keep them clean and itch
free so they now have the best of
both worlds – dust in the morning
and grass in the afternoon! They
love to free range and it is
great to let them out and watch
them scratch and explore. We now
have a lovely new little cockerel
too with a pleasant disposition –
thanks to Ele at Fivepenny
Farm – he is settling in
well - his name is Cheep!
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Kindy Corner
Charlotte Plummer
Well what a busy few months
we’ve had, it’s hard to believe
that spring term has been and
gone and now were fast
approaching the last half term of
our summer term.
The children have all been
busy and really settled in to
their weekly rhythm of painting,
baking and crafts. With numbers
up to 11 on our busy day we have
a good social group with children
mixing across the age groups and
enjoying some really inventive
creative play: we’ve had rockets,
horse stables, water mills and
boats built to name a few! The
children have also made some
beautiful puppet plays finding
props from our natural resources
and performed them to one another
– it really is wonderful to be
able to watch this creativity
unfold and see the huge
nourishment that comes from
telling rich stories and fairy
tales.
A highlight of the spring term
was our garden work day; this was
great fun with nearly all parents
and children turning up and
pitching in to help build our new
kindy garden. We dug out for a
huge sandpit, made raised
vegetable beds, created shrub
borders and cleared undergrowth
around a tree ready to later
build a tree house and climbing
platform, maybe with ropes,
pulleys and slides.
At the end of our spring term
the children helped to decorate
the kindergarten for our Easter
festival. This was a really
special day with parents and
children coming together for a
celebration. We all made clay
birds nests with little birds and
eggs too and then outdoors for
play in our new garden followed
by a communal meal with everyone
bringing something to share and
seasonal biscuits baked by the
children in kindergarten. The
morning ended with a puppet play
about the Easter hare and then
children took home their crafts -
little woollen hares they had
made, paintings and seeds they
had sown, all bundled up in a
little basket they had made
too.
For me the Easter holiday was
a busy time with a 4 day
conference at Michael Hall School
in Sussex. This was a chance to
meet with colleagues (around 20
kindergarten teachers and a
further 80 lower and upper school
teachers) and exchange ideas,
songs, crafts and poems. We also
participated in open discussion
groups ranging from school
readiness for 6 year-olds,
setting up a new kindergarten and
outdoor kindergarten days. We
were lucky to have amazing
speakers in the evenings such as
Aric Sigman (author of
Remotely Controlled) who
spoke about the influence of the
media on young children.
Our summer term started with
welcoming a new 3 year-old and
existing children enrolling for
more days. The children love
their new garden and have been
sowing seeds, weeding, building
dens and climbing in the trees.
The outdoor space has transformed
their imaginative play and
they’re very busy and industrious
and are having many adventures,
finding treasures, flowers and
insects. We have also made the
most of Monkton’s lovely grounds
and have had walks to visit cows,
chickens and sheep and had
picnics in the woods and by the
stream.
We have had a busy time making
May crowns and enjoying dancing
around the maypole, it is so
magical watching the children
transfixed by the weaving
ribbons! The kindergarten had an
open day as part of the Monkton
May Fayre; parents baked cakes,
made crafts and went out and
about with our ‘Lucky Dip Apron’
(soon to be ‘on the road’ at a
town near you!!!).
Two of the children celebrated
their 6th birthdays and we had a
special birthday story for each
of them. Parents are invited to
join us for story time and the
story tells of the child’s
journey to earth from cosmic
realms, and then important events
in the child’s life are shared
for each year, candles are lit
and songs sung – it is a really
special day.
Now the children are 6 they
can be called on to help look
after the younger children and be
role models, and to do jobs like
laying the tables, preparing
snack and helping with sweeping
and washing up. They have more
challenging work in their 6 year
old projects – at the moment
weaving.
Last week we celebrated
Whitsun, this was a simple but
important celebration in which
each child’s individuality is
recognised but is also about
community. The story for the week
told of a little white dove who
reminds us to ‘speak kind words
and take care of one another’. We
also sang songs about the white
dove and danced with dove wing
steamers during our morning ‘ring
– time’.
I am looking forward to summer
in the kindergarten, making
elderflower cordial and
strawberry jam. We will have a
fire and songs for our midsummer
festival and hope to bake bread
over the hot coals. Also we’re
going to find, prepare and
decorate some hazel poles to make
a wigwam for outdoor play, the
fabric for it we will dye in
reds, yellow and oranges with a
sun pattern.
We are also talking about next
year and in September we will
increase to running 5 days with
the possibility of a longer day
for older children. It’s exciting
times here at Monkton with the
kindergarten growing every
month!
All enquiries welcome as we
may still have space for next
year.
Leave a message for Charlotte
on 01297 560342 and she'll get
back to you to arrange a
visit.
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