Welcome to ACE Activities Spring Newsletter. Traditionally a quiet time of the year, but we have managed to pack loads in and have plenty more to look forward to!
Follow our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ACEactivities/ for fresh ‘hot off the press’ updates.
Photo: Kelly making some pancakes for Pancake Day
Wassailing in the Orchard at Grange Farm
In January we had great fun with our take on Wassailing in the orchard at Grange Farm. Wassailing is a festive tradition, often associated with the 12th night after Christmas, where people visit orchards to sing, dance, and drink cider to awaken the apple trees and ensure a bountiful harvest in the following season.
We had a great time with volunteer Alan as Master of Ceremonies and our Kings of the Orchard Matthew and Jason. We sang, danced, enjoyed honey cake and apple juice before pouring cider into the roots of the apple trees. We even hung cider soaked toast on to the branches! We are expecting a bumper harvest this year!
Burns Night Celebration Lunch
As well as our much valued volunteers we are very fortunate to have many friends and supporters of ACE Activities. They are champions of the project and support in different ways, be it practical help, promotion of the project or raising of much needed funds.
On January 29th we held a Burns Night themed celebration ‘Thank You’ lunch for our supporters. ACE Cooking with Confidence members prepared a sumptuous feast of Haggis and Tatties and made an array of Scottish treats for dessert.
Following all the traditional Burns Night traditions we ‘piped in’ the haggis and our member Kelly Whitbread read out the poem ‘Red Red Rose’. We of course finished the afternoon with Robert Burn’s most famous poem ‘Auld Lang Syne’!
Andrea’s recipe
With Easter approaching we thought you might like this delicious recipe!
Easter Bun Bread-and-Butter Pudding
Serves 8
Ingredients
300 ml pot double cream
4 eggs
600ml (1 pint) milk
100g (4oz) sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
8 hot cross buns
40g (1 1/2oz) butter
100g (4oz) marzipan, cubed
3 tbsp chunky marmalade
Method
1. Heat oven to 170°C.
2. Warm the cream and milk in a pan. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla together with a fork. Gradually add the warm cream mixture to it.
3. Halve the buns. Spread with the butter.
4. Put the buns into a large, shallow, ovenproof dish. Dot with marzipan. Brush the marmalade over the top.
5. Pour over the cream mixture. Leave to soak for 15 minutes. Press the buns down into the cream mixture as they soften.
6. Bake for 50 minutes until set. Stand for about 10 minutes.
Serve warm.
Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how you got on! Leave a comment below or contact us.
ACE Wombles of Chigwell
ACE Activities are keen proponents of a greener, cleaner environment. One day, when our ACE Members were out for a lovely winter walk, they were staggered to discover the amount of rubbish dumped along the verges leading to a beautiful nature spot.
After making enquiries, it appeared that no one was responsible for clearing the rubbish; undeterred, they set about organising a clearance event with EFDC agreeing to take the rubbish away at the end of the day. We collected a staggering amount of rubbish in a small 300 metre stretch! Everyone agreed that it was a morning well spent.
Focus on ACE Sports
ACE Sports was developed in the mid stages of the Covid Epidemic when restrictions were lifted. People were at last permitted to meet each other outside in groups of six. We had kept contact with all our ACE Members throughout the pandemic. We organised activities by zoom and post as well as keeping in touch with regular face time and phone calls. The loosening of the restrictions meant that, at last, we could meet face to face. We were lucky on two counts, firstly the use of the beautiful grounds at Grange Farm and secondly that one of our project leaders was an experienced special needs coach.
We decided to trial a small sports pilot. What started out with 6 people and a limited amount of activities has proved so popular that it has since flourished into a regular programme. With help from funding from Active Essex we have been able to deliver a weekly special needs sports programme for 17 Adults.
The activities are numerous including archery, football, seated yoga, hockey, cricket, netball and exercise to music to name but a few.
It is now one of our most popular projects and continues to develop weekly.
Funding News
We were delighted to receive further funding from Active Essex to enable us to hire specialist sporting coaches and sports staff/volunteer training.
We were honoured to be chosen by Mooremack Building Services as one of their supported charities this year. Many thanks to Teresa Brothertson for promoting ACE Activities.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday 22nd April – Educational visit to the Royal Gunpowder Mills.
Friday 9th May – Visit to the Big Top Circus in East Ham, with thanks to the Rotary clubs of Epping and Barking for securing the free tickets for our members.
Saturday 10th May – ACE Activities stand at the Swaines Green May Fayre, Epping 11am – 5pm. There will be stalls, side shows, food and drink and a fun arena area. We will be selling a range of handcrafted goods from ACE Upcycling and ACE Arts as well as cakes baked by our ACE Cooks.
Sunday 19th May – ACE Upcycling at Chigwell May Fair. Over 80 stalls, dog show, music, food, bouncy castle and more. Our Upcyclers will be selling a range of wooden crafts made from recycled timber.
Sunday 25th May – Charity Football Match between Voluntary Action Epping Forest/ ACE Activities and Colebrook Legends, at Grange Farm, Chigwell. Opens at 1pm, kick off at 2pm. Refreshments, Raffle and Auction. Come along and cheer on our team!!!
We are looking for sponsorship for this event.
Sunday 29th June – Chigwell Riding Trust Open Day. There will be an ACE Activities stand selling a range of handcrafted goods from ACE Upcycling and ACE Arts as well as cakes baked by our ACE Cooks.
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.
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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