Happy January, everyone!
We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are feeling positive about the year ahead. We certainly are, with lots of exciting plans coming up. Before we look forward, though, we’d love to share some highlights from the last few busy and fun-packed months.
In this issue
Christmas Creations and Markets
ACE Arts and the Tree Festival
A Festive Visit to Feed the Reindeer
Follow our Facebook page ACEactivities for fresh ‘hot off the press’ updates.
New Art Project – Starting 3 February
ACE Activities are excited to launch a new art project starting on Monday 3 February.
Alongside our usual afternoon art sessions, we are now offering an all-day art option.
Time: 10:00am – 3:00pm
Cost: £30 for the whole day (trial price)
Lots of the morning activities will be different from the afternoon and will include video and film, as well as other creative projects. Limited spaces available – please get in touch as soon as possible if you are interested.
October Adventures
We kicked things off in October with our ACE Sports Group enjoying a fantastic trip to Broxbourne Boats. Everyone had a wonderful day out on the river, finished off with a picnic. It was a well-deserved treat after months of energetic activities including football, cricket, sports days, netball, yoga, and much more.
Just messing about on the river…
ASDAN Achievements
Throughout the year, our gardening, cookery, and upcyclers groups have been working incredibly hard towards their ASDAN accredited qualifications. We feel the ASDAN programme brings structure, purpose, and real quality to the project. All that effort was celebrated at a special awards ceremony on 14th November at Theydon Bois Village Hall. Certificates were presented by Councillor Louise Mead, Chair of Epping Forest District Council, and the event was made even sweeter with delicious cakes baked by the ACE Cookery Team. It was a truly joyful occasion.
Christmas Creations and Markets
In the run-up to Christmas, our ACE Upcyclers were quietly busy creating beautiful festive items from recycled wood. These were sold at the Christmas market on 6th December, where the group had a brilliant day meeting lots of people and raised £300 for the project. It was especially lovely to see members confidently talking about the project and explaining how their individual products were made.
A happy customer with
ACE Upcycling volunteer
Tim Copeman
A Trip to the Theatre
Continuing with the Christmas theme, we were delighted to be invited by our friends at East 15 Acting School to attend their production of Sleeping Beauty. It was absolutely wonderful, and the group especially enjoyed meeting the cast afterwards. We’re very much looking forward to our next visit.
ACE Arts and the Tree Festival
ACE Arts joined in the festive spirit by taking part in the Christmas Tree Festival at St John’s Church in Epping. With the theme of Epping Forest, they created a delightful collection of pom-pom woodland animals. The finished tree looked wonderful and was enjoyed by all who visited the festival.
Sally Panrucker dressing the ACE Activities Christmas Tree
A Festive Visit to Feed the Reindeer
We were also kindly invited by the wonderful team at Woodland Grove Care Home to enjoy a very special festive visit. As well as generously donating two raffle hampers to support our events this year, they welcomed us along to feed the reindeer and enjoy tea and cake in their beautiful reception area. It was a truly magical and heart-warming afternoon, and we’re very thankful for their continued kindness and support.
Party Celebrations
We rounded off the year with our much-loved Christmas party at Theydon Bois Village Hall. It was a fantastic celebration with Father Christmas paying a special visit and handing out presents. There were games, dancing, and lots of laughter. It was lovely to have the Sunflower Group join us, and we’re very grateful to the London catering company for providing all the sandwiches.
Santa is always welcome at a Christmas party!
Tree planting day
On 13th November, we were delighted to join the staff of Grange Farm for a very enjoyable day planting dozens of young trees along the lower edges of the meadows. The trees were generously provided by the Woodland Trust to boost biodiversity, tackle climate change and improve community spaces. The conditions were perfect for a productive and rewarding session outdoors.
This has now become a much-anticipated annual event, bringing everyone together to make a positive and lasting contribution to the landscape. It has been particularly rewarding to look back over the past few years and see how the many trees planted during previous visits have established and grown, gradually transforming the site. We look forward to continuing this tradition in the years to come and watching the woodland develop further.
Looking Ahead – Exciting Things to Come
We have lots to look forward to in the coming months and are excited to share what’s coming up next.
Roman-Themed Art Project with Epping Forest Museum
We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Epping Forest Museum and the Sunflower Group on a ceramic art project inspired by Roman history. Archaeological finds discovered at a site called Little London near Chigwell have inspired a year-long Roman exhibition at the museum. We’re honoured to have been invited to create ceramic artwork that will be displayed as part of this exhibition for a whole year. The exhibition opens at the end of March, and we’d love for you to come along and visit.
Exploring Roman Life
Alongside the exhibition, we’ll be bringing the Roman theme into other areas of the project, including Roman-style gardening and cookery – and who knows, we may even explore it through singing and music too!
Charity Football Match – Date for the Diary
Following the success of last year’s charity football match, we’re delighted to announce that it’s back again, with even more fun planned. Please save the date: Sunday 31st May. More details will follow soon.
Please come along and support these events, meet our members and have a fabulous time. For details and updates, keep an eye on our Events page.
January Allotment tip
January is a great time to get ready for the growing season ahead. Clear fallen leaves, check raised beds and fences, and start planning what you’d like to grow this year. If the weather allows, you can also begin sowing broad beans indoors or in sheltered spots. A little preparation now makes all the difference later on.
Why not start by creating a no-dig area in your allotment? Simply lay down a thick layer of cardboard or newspaper over the soil, then cover it with compost or well-rotted manure. This protects the soil, prevents weeds, and enriches the ground naturally – ready for planting in the spring. See the before and after photos of our no-dig allotment we started last year!
Chinese Stir Fry
With Chinese New Year coming up on 17th February – the Year of the Horse – Andrea’s recipe has a Chinese theme, and is packed full of vitamins and goodness to give your New Year a healthy and energetic start.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
1 large onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
Small piece of fresh ginger root, grated
2 carrots,
200g mange tout
1 red pepper, thinly sliced,
175g (6oz) mixed wild mushrooms (or other mushrooms)
100g (4oz) bean sprouts
100g (4oz) pak choi (or Chinese leaves), shredded
A small pack of baby sweetcorn
PLUS: A jar of Chinese stir fry sauce of your choice (plum, sweet & sour, oyster, Chow Mein etc.) OR soya sauce
PLUS: Choose one from the following – boneless chicken pieces or other meat, prawns, tofu (or other vegetarian/vegan alternative).
Optional extras: Green beans, broccoli etc., a small tin of bamboo shoots, a small tin of water chestnuts, chopped spring onions to garnish, sesame seeds to sprinkle over the top.
Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how you got on! Leave a comment below or contact us.
Method
- If you are using:
TOFU* – dry fry it and set it aside.
CHICKEN or MEAT – fry in a little drop of oil and set aside.
PRAWNS – miss out this step completely. Just set aside.
* If you are using any other vegetarian alternative, e.g. quorn, miss out this step and just set it aside. - Heat the oils in a large wok or pan.
- Stir fry the onions and ginger for a few minutes. Add the garlic.
- Add all the remaining vegetables, except for the mushrooms and beansprouts. Fry for a minute or two. Then add the mushrooms and beansprouts. Fry for a minute or two more.
- Add the meat, tofu or prawns that you have set aside. Continue to stir fry until they are FULLY cooked and heated through.
- Stir in your jar of Chinese sauce. Heat it through.
- Serve with rice or noodles.
Thank you, as always, to our members, families, friends, and supporters. We’re really looking forward to sharing another exciting year with you all.
If you’d like to find out more about our activities and available places why not contact us for more details.
To help us keep these wonderful activities going for our lovely members, you can donate here or contact us to offer sponsorship.
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