Country Child

Flip em,

Sophie — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:21:39 +0000

On Tuesday, it’s Shrove Tuesday, better known as Pancake Day – or the day before Ash Wednesday. In keeping with the tradition, many of us will be serving up a few pancakes – apparently because we need to consume as much sugar, fat, flour and eggs as we can before we begin our Lent fasting.

We thought we’d inspire you with a few pancake recipe ideas, so we went out and asked our Facebook and Twitter followers and friends about their favourite toppings. These are a few that we’ll definitely be trying next Tuesday.

First of all, the fail-safe basic pancake recipe:

140g plain flour
200ml whole milk
2 free range eggs (Blackacre are our favourite)
25g unsalted butter , melted, plus a little extra for greasing

Place the flour and salt into a bowl then make a hollow in the centre and add the egg.
Whisk the egg into flour and then gradually add the milk, until the batter is smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled frying pan until hot then pour in enough batter to cover the base of the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes on a medium heat until underside is golden brown.
Flip pancake and cook the other side for a further minute and then serve.

For those with little time don’t feel guilty about buying them.

Then the best bit – the toppings:

Bananas, toffee sauce and whipped cream
Chocolate sauce and fresh strawberries (why not pile them up and then a squirt of cream on the top)
Chocolate spread, marshmallows and vanilla ice cream
Nutella and popping candy
Strawberries, Blueberries and creme fraiche
Bananas and chocolate chips
Barbados butterscotch sauce (my personal favourite) 100 – 175g butter, 100 – 175g golden syrup. Place first the chopped butter and then the syrup into a heavy pan. When the butter melts whisk continuously and boil the mixture for 2 – 3 minutes only, any longer you get toffee!

As you can see, not a savoury one in sight.

Madeleine’s February Veg Patch Tips

Sophie — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:05:41 +0000

I have been putting manure onto my raspberries, asparagus and in my vegetable patch and when I get time I will put it on my flower beds, roses and fruit trees. Manure is a wonderful thing – feeding the plants and keeping them healthy and warm.

Horseradishes: I planted them in a patio planter as I have had previous experience with horseradishes and they seem to root everywhere and then you can never get rid of them. I found this contained planter and I think it will do the job. Use ½ manure and ½ compost as the horseradishes love manure. I have actually put the planter in the greenhouse to start it off.

Seeds: now you can plant, tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, asparagus, chillies, cabbages, cauliflowers, onions, leeks and lettuces. You can also plant garlic sets, but this probably will grow as a single clove rather than the more usual garlic with lots of cloves, because it is late in the season to plant garlic. All my seeds are grown in seed trays either in the greenhouse or on a windowsill in the house.

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Half Term Fun….

Jill — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:29:32 +0000

Half term is once more upon us. A whole week with our children at home, bouncing with energy and excitement, and needing lots of diversions! Read on – there’s so much happening locally over half term that you’ll be spoilt for choice (and that’s after you’ve had a fab time in the promised snow…..)

MENACE FOOTBALL – Monday 13–Wednesday 15 February – 10am-3pm

Menace Football is running a three day course at Chafyn Grove School (SP1 1LR). Action-packed and fun-filled days consisting of drills honing technique and games.

Ages 7-14. £30 per day. For more information and to book online see www.menacefootball.co.uk or call Horrid Henry on 07788486469.

MOTCOMBE PARK SPORTS CLUB, Port Regis, Shaftesbury

Monday 13 – Friday 17 February

A jam-packed week of energetic fun. Fantastic ball sports and an array of wild and wacky team games and tournaments. Also quizzes, arts and crafts, fun in the gym, swimming and traditional holiday games, not to mention the beautiful woods to explore. See the link to their website for more details.

NATIONAL TRUST PROPERTIES

Always marvellous places to have fun. Here are just a few things going on locally over half term.

MONTACUTE HOUSE, Montacute TA15 6XP

RAMBLE AND ROAST – Sunday 12 February

Varying trails to follow across the South Somerset countryside and then back to Montacute House for a delicious two course roast dinner.

TREE CLIMBING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY – Saturday 18 February

Have a go climbing the tall, impressive cedars with ‘Tree Frog’ who specialise in recreational climbing.

SLED DOG TEAM AND ‘HUG A HUSKY’ – Saturday 18 February

Get up close to some lovely furry huskies and watch them whizzing up and down theWest Drive.

For more information on all the above contact Montacute House, Tel: 01935 823289, montacute@nationaltrust.org.uk

STUDLAND BEACH AND NATURE RESERVE – Monday 13–Friday 17 February

It’s Pirate Week! Over the week there’ll be lots on, including a trail, sand sculpture fun, ‘talk like a pirate’ lessons, den building, design your own pirate flag, make your own edible ‘pieces of eight’ and Studland stories.

Check the National Trust website for more information or call 01929 450259.

OLD SARUM – Saturday 11–Sunday 19 February – 11am-3pm

Family Fun Trail. Can you help to crack clues and solve a mystery to earn your prize?

THE TANK MUSEUM, BOVINGTON – Saturday 11–Sunday 19 February – 10am-5pm

THE 1940S EXPERIENCE – giving a taste of wartimeBritain. Visitors will learn about life on the Home Front during World War Two in a series of fun family activities, finding out about evacuation, rationing, and the menacing threat of air raids.

Children in 1940s fancy dress go free.

For more information see their website or call 01929 462359.

FLEET AIR ARM MUSEUM, RNAS Yeovilton

PIRATE HALF TERM – Monday 13 – Friday 17 February

The pirates are coming and every day there will be some fearsome family activities.

Children are encouraged to come in fancy dress. They’ll be shown how to draw a pirate map in ‘blood’ using a quill pen, and make a variety of pirate accessories including cutlasses, telescopes and eye patches.

Cap’n Jack Sparrow lookalike and his scurvy shipmates will put on a stage show and sing-a-long and there’ll be lessons in learning to live and speak like a pirate.

Why not try out at the Royal Marines’ climbing wall?

MODEL SHOW – Saturday 11 February

Over 130 traders and clubs exhibiting everything from model aircraft, boats, figures, tanks and dioramas.

‘Airfix’ will host a ‘Make and Paint’ workshop. There will also be prizes for any outstanding models you bring from home.

Also watch out for the radio controlled flying display.

HIGHER GREEN FARM ARTS, Twyford, Shaftesbury – Monday 13-Saturday 18 February

There is a large variety of craft courses on offer for children of five and above. These include drawing skills, wire sculpture, sculpture and jewellery design. See their website for more details.

THE PHOENIX AND THE CARPET –Salisbury Playhouse

Saturday 11 February – 2pm Recommended age 5+ All seats £8

The story begins when five children and their baby brother are playing in the nursery and accidentally set fire to their carpet. A new one is bought and when it is unrolled, a golden egg falls into the fireplace and is hatched into a beautiful, if rather arrogant, phoenix.

The children soon discover that the phoenix and the carpet are magic and can fly them across the world for a number of adventures and sticky situations!

TRAVELS WITH GRANDAD - Pickled Image - Sunday 12 February, PiddleValleySchool, Piddletrenthide – Monday 13 February, Sturminster Marshall Memorial Hall

A puppet show hosted by Grandad, eccentric traveller and storyteller extraordinaire. Enter his battered Bedouin tent to hear magical tales of adventure in real and imaginary worlds. The Clock That Stopped Time, The Violin Princess and the Most Beautiful Thing in the World are brand new old fashioned fairy tales crafted by Toby Hulse. Clever sound and puppetry create a classic performance for ages 3+.

DRAMA DAYS AT THE SALISBURY PLAYHOUSE

Monday 13 February–Friday 17 February. 10am-3pm. £15 for one day, £25 for two days.

One or two day workshops for young people aged 7–15+ full of drama games, activities and general performance skills.

THE ENORMOUS TURNIP – Octagon Theatre, Yeovil – Wednesday 15 February – 2.30 pm – £8 (or £6 concessions)

Living on an allotment in a tiny house the size of a shed, Mr and Mrs Chickweed show off their prize-winning vegetables for the last time before they retire. However they can’t resist planting one last seed and as the Enormous Turnip grows it threatens their house with disaster! Can anyone help them pull up the Enormous Turnip?

Stuff and Nonsense return with their unswerving energy, eccentric puppetry and live music in a re-potted version of the world-famous children’s story.

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Happy Pigs are Delicious Pigs

Jill — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:23:05 +0000

I have to be honest – we are not a family of pork eaters. Gammon, bacon, ham, sausages – yes. But a joint of pork? Absolutely not.

This is all to do with the Daddy of the family whose memories of slimy (or dry) roasts from his youth have scarred him into adulthood. Bearing in mind that the kids still sometimes mess with their food, it’s easier to cook something that everybody will eat. Experimental recipes that no one eats can get expensive. So pork has been off the menu for some time.

However, when chatting with other Mums recently, it came to my attention that a mutual ‘Mum friend’ and her husband have started rearing their own pigs inNorth Dorset and are producing wonderful pork. The couple behind ‘The Uncommon Pig Co’ are Louise and Luke Trowbridge, dairy farmers by trade and also parents to four boys. They farm at Stour Provost, an easy stop on the school run, so I thought I’d drop in to see what it was all about.

“It’s a family business, and the welfare of the pigs is paramount”, Louise explained. “Everything is provided to keep the pigs as happy as possible. There’s lots of outdoor space and mud to roll in, and their food is top quality.” Even their ‘final journey’ is short and as stress-free as possible. I’m told that all this adds to the lovely flavour of the pork.

I left the farm with a shoulder of pork in one hand and a good deal of apprehension in the other. I’m a fairly confident cook but needed to consult the ancient but unfailingly reliable ‘Dairy Book of Home Cookery’. It’s older than the Ark but still going strong, and the recipes always work – just what was needed in this new territory. Apparently slow roasting is best for this joint. It also advised me to score the crackling and rub with melted butter and salt. Two and a half hours later we sat down to our midweek roast pork, served with braised sweet and sour red cabbage, roasted new potatoes with thyme, Yorkshire puddings and carrots. It smelt amazing and looked good too – perfect crackling – not bad for a first timer. The kids had never seen crackling and at first were unsure what to do with it!

The pork was delicious, but was Daddy converted? Well, yes and no. He enjoyed the flavour (utterly different to his childhood memories) but he did struggle with the fatty ring around the meat. The kids and I solved this problem by trimming the fat off. My fussy five year old daughter reported that “that is the nicest meat that wasn’t beef, ever” – some praise considering she mainly survives on beans. In lunch boxes the next day the pork went down very well cold with Granny’s spiced apple chutney.

Will I be buying another joint? Definitely. I’ll check out which cuts may be less fatty and then I’m sure it will be a new family favourite. The flavour is faultless and has a lot more depth than any supermarket meat I’ve tasted – give it a go.

The Uncommon Pig Co is a local, family-run company with old-fashioned values on animal welfare. Check out their Facebook page or website for more information on their breeds and ethos.

The Uncommon Pig are offering 10% off all orders over £50 until the end of April. Please quote or mention Country Child when ordering. This offer is available for domestic customers only.

Aaah! The Sweet Smell of Children

Sophie — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:59:50 +0000

My children have spent the last few weeks smelling of fresh, zesty tangerines. This is all thanks to a very exciting package which arrived from Child’s Farm who have recently launched a range of toiletry products for children.

The first thing that strikes you about these products, other than the gorgeous smell, is the fun packaging. The bottles show real animals and ponies that live on Childs Farm, a small holding in rural Hampshire. My daughter’s favourite was definitely ‘Tame that mane!” a conditioner for unruly hair and the boys loved “Caked with mud” a hair and body wash for dirty rascals. The lives of all the animals featured on the bottles are also shown on the website which encourages children to use their imagination whilst having a chance to live virtual farm life – it’s fun, clever and interactive.

Now for the technical bit. The products have been specially formulated for young skin and hair (aimed at 4-10 year olds). They contain organic essential oils and no parabens, SLS’s, mineral oils or artificial colour. All sounds impressive and makes you feel good while you lather up the kids during bathtime.

From around £4.65, you can buy the products on-line – but be warned – they are so sweet smelling it’s tempting to get through the bottles quickly. The children also love the packaging so much, I’ve caught the 2 year old pouring lashings of “Bubble bath for Buccanneers” into his bath. When you buy a bottle you’re also doing your charitable bit as Child’s Farm donates 10% of profits on the sales of its pony products to the Riding for the Disabled and Farm Crisis Network.

These products really do brighten up bathtime and I’m certainly re-ordering. Let’s just hope they produce some bumper bottles soon.

Walk on the South West Coastal Trail

Sophie — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:05:52 +0000

Now the children are settled back in school, my husband suggested a nice day out together. I was thinking relaxing spa, shopping in Bath and lunch but realised I was way off track as we arrived in the car park at West Lulworth for what he described as a “lovely walk.” As we began to climb up the steep hill (or rather a cliff) in front of us I focused my mind on the pub lunch that he was sure to have booked.

The South West coastal trail runs 630 miles long from Poole Harbour to Minehead. We tackled one stretch of it – from West Lulworth to Ringstead Bay. To say it was steep is probably an understatement – it was described as “a monstrous rollercoaster of a route” in a guidebook we read afterwards, so perhaps not suitable for small children other than those who are training for the rugby season. No sooner had we climbed one hill, we began our descent down the other side and this repeated itself over and over until I declared very grumpily that I felt sick. He pulled a bag out of his small ruck sack and offered me a lump of fudge thinking it would help.

However, once we got beyond Durdle Door, the path was more gentle and the views absolutely breathtaking. It was a fresh, still day and we could literally see for miles. We were almost totally alone apart from the one photographer we came across and a couple of hang gliders floating above us. We passed some wonderful remote cottages perched on the edge of the cliffs and imagined what it would be like to live there shut away from the rest of the world. My husband convinced me they were MI5 safe houses, hiding away secret Russian spies. After about 5 miles of hard walking we arrived at Ringstead Bay. ”Where’s the pub?” I said. “I’ve got sandwiches,” he replied. So we sat on the beach eating his ‘surprise’ packed lunch – cheese sandwiches, a packet of crisps and a banana. Perfect.

We both agreed that we weren’t sure we could cope with the steep inclines of the coastal path again so we took the ridgeway back across the Dorset Downs. Walking up past the car park at Ringstead, we took a footpath to the right and walked along farm land. Once we reached South Down Farm, we walked through the farmyard and headed up a steep lane. Turning right we strolled across the Downs – field after field of sheep, again with staggeringly beautiful views of the coastline. Once we came across the holiday park, we decided to walk the short way back along the road to West Lulworth, largely because our legs were definitely feeling the strain of going cross country.

We arrived back to the car park exhausted with aching legs and rugged wind burnt faces, but it was wonderful. We talked about anything and everything, planned the rest of our year and put the world to rights along some of the most stunning coastline I’ve ever seen. Today, I am housebound and can barely walk – and so are the dogs.

This walk is 11.5 miles so probably only suitable for adults, but you could do the Downs walk very easily with small children. Some of the pathways on the coastal walk are very steep with sheer drops down the cliffs, so do keep a close eye on dogs if you have them with you. We left West Lulworth car park at 9.45am and arrived back to the car at 3.45pm, having stopped for half an hour for lunch. Some of our favourite place names we came across were “Dagger’s Gate” and “Scratchy Bottom.”

Top Tips:

Take walking sticks to help with the steep climbs
Take a picnic, snacks and plenty of water to keep you going
Take a camera
Remember your mobile phone
Take loo paper or wet wipes just in case you get caught short (there are excellent loos at West Lulworth but nothing open at Ringstead Bay)
Take water for dogs

Country Child Photoshoot at The Beckford

Sophie — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:56:16 +0000

We had a great Country Child photoshoot at The Beckford Arms last week with four gorgeous children. They modelled a selection of wonderful clothes from many local suppliers, such as The Faithful Elephant, The Urban Meadow, Millie Manu, Picaloulou, Cooking Apple, Tweedies, Guillotine and Minna. Our Country Child photographer, Millie Pilkington was as always absolutely fantastic at getting the children to relax as well as have lots of fun.

The Beckford Arms was the perfect location with its log fires, sofas and large windows letting in lots of natural light. The Beckford dog, Ailsa, was also very keen to take part. While Millie snapped away working her magic, Candice was her assistant moving cushions, straightening pictures and generally getting the background right for the perfect shot. Meanwhile, I dressed the children and enjoyed chatting to the lovely mothers whilst consuming far too much caffeine. The children were really fantastic and huge thanks goes to Hector, Felix, Iris and Clover.

We’re thrilled with the photos but I’m afraid it was a winter shoot so you’ll have to wait a while to see them.

Flash Cards

Sophie — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:08:02 +0000

Carddies are the latest toy to land on the Country Child desk, so we thought we’d test them out on some of our children and get their verdict on this new toy.

Recently launched by two sisters with seven children between them, Carddies are sets of engaging card characters that are ready to colour in. The small boxes contain 12 sturdy double-sided card figures, 12 colouring pencils and 12 stands. There are eight sets to choose from which include Ballet, Fairies, Football, Cavemen, School, Knights and two Families.

It was Sarah’s two children who got to try out the Carddies’ Ballet and Knights packs. As soon as her five-year-old daughter saw the pink box she wanted to get stuck in straight away. She was massively impressed with the set and painstakingly coloured in each character naming them all after her school friends. The Carddies were excellent on car journeys and crucial entertainment whilst she saw waiting for her brother to finish his Tae Kwon Do lesson. She seemed to enjoy dipping back into the box, setting up scenes and acting out stories. “It has literally been hours of fun,” Sarah said. She even took them to her ‘Show and Tell’, which must be the highest accolade. The card is sturdy and the designs aren’t too intricate so there is space to colour in without going over the lines, which every small girl is very particular about.

Admittedly, Sarah’s seven-year-old son wasn’t quite so interested but this could be a reflection on him being more interested in playing outside than devoting time to colouring in his Knights. However, with a little more encouragement, we think boys might enjoy them too particularly on a wet day when the dreaded Nintendo has been banned! The football figures would suit many as they can design their own strip and form teams.

Sarah’s verdict: “All in all a great little gift which would definitely be a huge hit with girls.”

Sarah’s five-year-old daughter’s verdict: “I like these little people. Can I have a bigger set for Christmas?”

Carddies are £8.99 and available from www.carddies.com and www.amazon.co.uk

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Out to Play!

Sophie — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 08:04:14 +0000

It’s always difficult to find nice, good quality clothes for boys. We are loving these t-shirts by UK ethical brand Boys & Girls. They’re 100% organic cotton and Fairtrade certified so you can feel good buying and wearing them too.

The ‘Bright as Day’ tee (£14) comes in green, sizes 4 up to 8 and the “Out to Play’ tee comes in red sized 3 to 8. The sweatshirts (£22) are in a really

soft grey 100% organic cotton, also with ‘Out to Play’ logo and are from age 3 to 10 years.

They are available from one of our favourite local children’s clothes stores, Urban Meadow based near Wimborne. The business was set up by Claire, an organic dairy farmer and Alex, an ex-marketing manager, who have 5 children between them.

Owner Alex Williams says, “The organic cotton means no harsh chemicals are used in the growing or processing of the fabric – this makes it kinder to skin as its less likely to trigger allergies – but an added bonus is that they wash and wear much better as the fabric is stronger and stays softer longer than in conventional cotton garments. Our first collection is all sweatshop free and mainly organic – we’ve selected brands for their great quality as well as style as we really believe its worth paying a little bit more for clothes that can be worn again and again and passed on to siblings.”

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Float Down To The Fontmell

Candice — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:47:36 +0000

There has certainly been a bit of a buzz around the opening of the newly revamped Fontmell pub.

The pub which was originally The Crown is well situated in Fontmell Magna just 10 minutes drive from Shaftesbury. What strikes you when you walk through the door is that it is more intimate than its imposing exterior would lead you to believe. You’re greeted by smily, trendy staff and a super cool zinc bar. Log fires, deep coloured walls, homemade sausage rolls on the bar and a dining room which resembles a country house library, this is an atmospheric, stylish gastro pub.

Admittedly, I went to the Fontmell with a group of mothers – not with my children – so it was a little harder to get a feel as to how child-friendly this place is. I have to imagine whether it would work for my family.

Well, it’s comfortably snug in the Fontmell so probably not so great for a large brood of small children. I would probably be happy to take my older three (aged 9, 8 and 5) for a really lovely, cool lunch or early supper, but I’d be a little more nervous taking my rather active 2 year-old (probably more a reflection on him than the Fontmell). There are no highchairs due to space which probably says it all. My boys would love the Collyer’s Brook stream which flows between the bar and dining room and my daughter would love the whole snazziness of the place.

The food is great for adults and a real treat, should you opt for the full dining experience. I’m told by one customer that the Hamburger on the Comfort Food menu is one of the best in the area. The children’s menu is straight forward and sure to appeal to every fussy eater. The Black Cow is the Fontmell’s clever smart coke float – root beer, ice cream and chocolate sauce and I’m told the Willy Wonka ice cream sundae is very popular amongst the younger guests.

The rooms are definitely a highlight of the Fontmell and certainly worth recommending to anyone looking to visit the area. Each room is named ”butterfly” in different languages. Book the Mallyshag for families with its King Size bed, sofa bed and freestanding roll top bath in the room. A travel cot can also be provided. My other favourite room was Papillon although they’re all beautifully designed with gorgeous bathrooms full of luxury potions.

William Scott Masson, manager of the Fontmell, says, “Everybody should feel welcome at the Fontmell and everybody should be treated the same. Either dress up and come for dinner or pop in on your way past with the dog.”

I think this would also apply to small children – as long as they’re on their best behaviour.

Let us know what you think.