Author: bacaadmin

Ukraine collection – Tuesday at Bellingdon & Asheridge Village Hall

~ bacaadmin

We are coordinating a collection for the good people of Ukraine.
On Tuesday this week Bellingdon & Asheridge village hall will be open for drop offs of the following. Specific items required:

  • First aid kits,
  • burns kits,
  • bandages,
  • pain killers,
  • dressing pads,
  • warm socks,
  • thermal underwear,
  • gloves,
  • hats,
  • nappies,
  • torches,
  • batteries AA and AA

Please have any clothing items clean and in good order.

I will be closing down the drop offs at 6:30 pm so that the hall can be cleaned and prepped for a booking at 7:30.

At 6:30 pm, I’ll be taking the last of the collected items over to the Ley Hill Memorial Hall to be added to the Cub Scout programme, run by their leader Jo Kimber.

If you have friends over in Ley Hill who may want to drop some items off there, the memorial hall is open from 4:30pm on Tuesday.

Everything will then be taken to a central collecting point in Luton. I’m not sure when this will happen, but we may be seeking some help in getting everything over to Luton. More to follow on this when I have the details.

If you read this email but can’t get to either of the drop off locations above, let me know and I will buzz around on Tuesday morning to collect as appropriate. Please message me. 


Thanks,
Simon Church
Church International Consulting Ltd
+447801231730

Ultrafast broadband update 3/2/22

~ bacaadmin

In recent months you may have noticed the activity in the village regarding the installation of Gigabit Broadband. There have been many Openreach engineer visits and fibre has now been ‘pulled’ from the main cabinets through ducts and to the main poles carrying the existing telephony/internet services across Bellingdon.

Against this background you may, like us, have been rather surprised to have recently received an email from DCMS suggesting that your Gigabit Internet Voucher will be expiring soon. We were all looking forward to the ‘release’ of the new fibre network to service providers (e.g. BT, Sky, Talk Talk) in May enabling us all to order the new high speed service.

Tony Orr has this morning been in correspondence with Openreach who have advised that the sending of this email is an administrative process that they cannot control, but that we should not be concerned at this stage and there is no action that residents need to take. We have been promised an update ‘at the earliest opportunity on any remedial steps required if any’. We will be in touch again when we have more information.

Hugh Griffiths

BAACA (Bellingdon and Asheridge Community Association) Trustee
On behalf of BAACA

Curvaceous cook: Best Ever Pancakes

~ bacaadmin

[The recipe is going in the newsletter but won’t be in time for Shrove Tuesday unfortunately so here it is in advance – Ed]
For once I have actually remembered to offer these up on time, rather than thinking of them in March when too late!

I found this recipe in The Evening Standard in 1973 when I went to London to start my nurse training, and have used it ever since. I have a feeling that it was by Thane Prince, but not certain. I think I have used it here before, but good enough to do again I hope.

It makes very good pancakes for sweet and savoury use, and I used to often make a stack with 4 or 5 different fillings for supper parties. You cut them like a cake…very 1970’s, but absolutely delicious. They also make great pretend cannelloni.

The trick is in the butter being added to the mix. You never need to grease the pan between pancakes, and when you have to make as many as I do on Shrove Tuesday, this is a bonus.

  • 140g plain flour
  • 3 large eggs
  • 300ml milk ( I always use skimmed as that is all we have, but any will do)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 30g butter

If you have a stick blender, put everything but the butter in the jug and whizz. Done. If you don’t, beat eggs into flour and salt and gradually add the milk

Melt the butter in the pan you are going to use, give it a good swirl, then pour the melted butter into the mix and stir.

Have your pan pretty hot, and dollop a small ladleful at a time, swirling the pan as you do. Once the base is covered, pour any excess back into the jug.

Cook just long enough for the edges to start to crisp up, flip over and barely cook the other side. Stack on a plate. I don’t put anything between them, they are fine. In my family I have to have 2 pans on the go and I never get a stack, but some people may be more restrained

They freeze beautifully…fat chance…

The Italians use them a lot to wrap around mushrooms in a sauce as a starter, and they sometimes then deep fry the bundle…enjoy I would love to hear what you do with them.