Muck, Muck, Muck - black gold!

After many wheelbarrows full of farmyard manure the garden is now ready for winter. Black plastic is covering large areas of open ground preventing the weeds from taking over in the spring. A thick layer of muck covers large areas - hopefully the worms will keep busy this winter and drag it all into the soil to make a nice humus rich growing medium.

The last of the carrots and turnips have been dug up, but there is still a good supply of sprouts for Christmas and several beautiful red cabbage.

The chicory has been dug up and planted in pots for forcing, never done it before so watch this space!

It is cold, very cold, outside but luckily we have missed the snow, just a few snow flurries, but nothing on the ground.

MUD, MUD, MUD

Mud is what you get when there has been a lot of rain in the countryside. Everything I touch outside is wet and dirty. It is time to clear the garden and prepare it for the winter. There are still vegetables in the ground which should keep us going for several weeks. Sprouts, red cabbage, leeks, turnips, beetroot and a variety of salad leaves, lambs ears, endive and oak leaf. The compost heap has been emptied on to the garden, the asparagus bed getting a good thick layer. I have dug all the potatoes, just need to go over the plot again to see if I have missed any, but will wait for a dry day before tackling that task. We have had a good crop this year, the Pink Fir Apples have been particularly prolific, and with a good crop of Blue Danube and Cara's we should have plenty of potatoes to see us through a cold winter.

Last autumn I took cuttings from the red currant bush, these rooted and we have now planted them on the edge of the garden with the idea of having an edible hedge. A way of having more soft fruit without taking up more space in the garden. Let's just hope they survive the move and the winter.

Now just need to plant up the bulbs I removed from the tubs, to plant summer bedding, so that we have another good display of colour come the spring.

Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) 5

Continuing to finalise the WrW event focusing on the MDG 5. Two speakers so far confirmed. We are really lucky to have Maria Pawlowska is a Cambridge University Gates Scholar and has worked for different organizations including Global Poverty Project and RESULTS on issues concerning maternal mortality - communicating with the wider audience as well as writing government consultations. She has also written on maternal health for the Maternal Health Task Force and has been published in different outlets including the Reproductive Health Reality Check. Maria will speak about the latest developments, the most important of which are preventing hemorrhage and providing family planning services. She will also speak on the causes of maternal deaths and what is currently being done to help and why the MDGs are so important.

http://maternalhealthtaskforce.org/discuss/wpblog/tag/melinda-gates/

To bring the subject closer to home. Victoria Morris, Young Parents Support and Advocacy Worker will talk about the work being done in Suffolk with young teenage parents. The WI has been involved with one of her support groups, sharing skills such as knitting crochet and cooking.

Wednesday 23rd February 2011, Horringer Community Centre. 7 for 7.30 start.

Please do put this event in your diary - tickets can now be purchased from the WI office just £4. Please contact them directly (01284 754520) or by email suffolkwestwi@btconnect.com.

Millenium Development Goals MDGs

Busy a planning an event as part of the Women Reaching Women campaign. The NFWI is working with Oxfam GB and the Everyone Foundation on a three year development, gender and climate change educational campaign. Women Reaching Women aims to broaden awareness of these issues amongst WI members, their families and communities.

This years emphasis should be on equality but here in Suffolk we are concentrating on MDG 5 maternal health.

The statistics are staggering. For instance did you know?

• More than half a million women die in pregnancy and childbirth every year - that's one death every minute. Of these deaths, 99 per cent are in developing countries. The lifetime risk of dying in pregnancy and childbirth in Africa is 1 in 22, while it is 1 in 120 in Asia and 1 in 7,300 in developed countries.(Source:UNFPA)

• Only 28 in 100 women giving birth are attended by trained health personnel in the least developed countries. (Source:ActionAid)

Luckily there is a lot of work being done around the world to improve matters, and hopefully those who attend my event will come away better informed.
I am currently inviting speakers and it looks like we will have at least two if not three people with both knowledge and influence.

As this event is open to all - not just the WI I do hope we will get a good attendance. I think it should be of interest to all but particularly to mums and dads of all ages. Spread the word to anyone who may live close enough to Bury St Edmunds to attend.

Wednesday 23rd February 2011, Horringer Community Centre. 7 for 7.30 start.

What a week!

Back from a few days at a 'Women Reaching Women' Conference at Denman College. If anyone thinks I have been away on a jolly - forget it, this has been an intense conference, busy from after breakfast till late in the evening, yes, we even had sessions and talks after dinner.

However it was very interesting and stimulating and now I am ready to get on with organizing our final years events. Watch out all of my friends in Suffolk, I will be expecting you all to support me.
If you haven't heard about Women Reaching Women click on the link below for more information.
http://www.thewi.org.uk/standard.aspx?id=12134

Today I visited the young parents group in Sudbury. What a success that has been, when I first visited there were several mums and dads with their children but now the group has dwindled to just a few as most of the young parents are now either back in education, training or in full time work.

Just one very young mum and lovely baby today - and we cooked a quick pasta lunch together in the kitchen. It has been a really inspiring place to visit I just hope that there are similar groups in other towns where young parents can get the support that these youngsters have received in Sudbury. Well done to their support team.

One delightful baby enjoying his pasta with tomato sauce, cooked by mum!

Girls Night Out

What a great event. About 560 women took part in a 11.2 mile (18 km) walk around the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds yesterday evening. We started at 20.00 hours and Debbie and I completed the walk in 3 hours 15 mins.

The weather was kind, rain had been forecast but it held off until the end of the evening.

Despite having a bad cold and really not feeling at all fit before we set off I was surprised we walked to easily. Today, no aches or pains and feel much brighter and fitter.

Well done to all of us who took part and thanks to our sponsors - the money raised is going to a good cause.

Gifts from the Garden

It is said that the pleasure is in the giving of gifts, but I have to say that there is a great pleasure in the receiving of gifts, particularly those from the garden or those made by the giver.

We have had the pleasure of receiving edible gifts from our friends and neighbours gardens. Freshly dug beetroot, sun ripened tomatoes. Hot spicy chilli peppers and large courgettes ideal for chutney making. Home made jams and jellies, quince, rhubarb and black current - just a few of the varieties we have tasted this year, all really lovely. We also received dry cured bacon from Wales, a real luxury in France. I do appreciate these offerings and we have enjoyed them all.