Welcome to the ‘Summer’ Newsletter!
I use the word ‘summer’ lightly as we have only had the odd glimpse of the sun so far! Luckily, the sun shone on three out of four of our outdoor events. We had Swaines Green May Fayre, the Learning Disability Festival and Chigwell Riding Trust’s 60th Anniversary Open Day. Unfortunately, we were not so lucky on our Sports Day this year, but a fun day was had by all.
Sally Panrucker
Lifeforce climate change event at Grange Farm
On Friday May 3rd we joined The Sunflower Group for a celebration of the climate change awareness project ACE Arts have been working on, led by John Price. There were introductory talks, including a very interesting talk on the effect of climate change on our planet by botanist Patricia Moxey.
There was an Climate Change Art Exhibition and information stalls from other organisations . ACE Upcycling had a stall displaying products made from recycled timber. This was followed by entertainment from ACE ‘Hands up to Music’. The Sunflower Group ran a raffle and food stall with sandwiches generously donated by the Soho Sandwich Company.
John Price of the Sunflower group has co-ordinated a climate change project across different organisations in the area over the past year. Please take a look at the ‘Life Force’ Climate Magazine they have put together to show the fantastic work these organisations have done.
Fun in the sun at Swaines Green May Fayre
ACE Upcycling had a busy May and attended the Swaines Green Fayre where they sold a number of their handcrafted goods all made from recycled timber. It is the second year for the group at the event and a range of planters, insect hotels, wellie stands and bird boxes flew off the shelves! Our ACE Upcyclers really enjoyed the day, and they derive a great deal of pride selling the excellent products that they have been working on.
This year we also sold over 50 plants nurtured by our very own ACE Gardeners.
Cooking with Confidence recipes
Healthy but tastes Naughty! We like to promote healthy options for our ACE ‘Cooking with Confidence Class’ and nothing is more popular than this recipe from Andrea!
No-Bake Chocolate Weetabix Slice
Ingredients
5 Weetabix
200g of dates (or raisins or other dried fruit)
100g of desiccated coconut (or replace with other seeds/nuts/dried fruit)
100g of sunflower seeds (or any other seeds or nuts)
4 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of honey (or other sweetener – we used Stevia, a natural sugar replacement, with 2tbsp water)
2 tablespoons of water
Method
1. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper. Put aside.
2. Soak the dates in a drop of warm water for 5 – 10 minutes, then drain.
3. Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and whizz until fully combined. Add more water if necessary.
4. Press the mixture into the loaf tin.
5. Leave in the fridge for 2 hours before eating.
Sports Day
What a fun day we had with ACE Sports on our second ever Sports Day!
This year we invited all the staff from VAEF to join in. We started with a football tournament and you have never seen such a competitive group of people play so hard to win the ultimate title of overall champions, with cries of ‘foul’ and ‘that’s not fair Ref’! All in the name of sport and fun with smiles and laughs all round. After lunch we had more fun with traditional ‘old style’ sports day games, including, three-legged races, pass the water relays and tug-of-war!
Learning Disability Festival
On June 29th we celebrated Learning Disability Week at the ‘Do you see me Festival’ organised by Essex County Council Adult Social Care at Harlow Town Park. It was a truly inspiring day with many different organisations who provide services for people with Learning Disabilities in attendance.
As well as sharing information, each stall was asked to provide activities for people attending. ACE Activities had ‘origami classes for all’ and a beat the goalie for everyone to take part in.
ACE Upcyclers displayed their fabulous goods and ACE Cooking with Confidence group made shortbread for all to sample. On top of all this our ‘Hands Up to Music’ delivered a storming performance on the main stage whilst encouraging the audience to join in with both the singing AND the signing!
An amazing day was had by all and we can’t wait to do it all again next year!
Chigwell Riding Trust 60th Anniversary Open Day
We were delighted to be invited to the open at Chigwell Riding Trust a wonderful charity who have provided specialised riding lessons for people with special needs for the last 60 years.
ACE Upcyclers held a stall on the day and we heard many life changing stories from past and present riders and all the dedicated staff and volunteers of the Trust. Our ACE Upcyclers delighted in talking to customers about the hand crafted goods, none more so than Daniel who sold a large bug hotel in the shape of a Tardis to a fellow Doctor Who Fan!
Upcoming Events
Summer Sports Activity Programme – every Monday’s ACE Sports and Gardening sessions through summer holidays, including golf at North Weald Golf Course, Boating, Tennis and more
23rd August – ACE ‘Hands up to Music’ will be performing at Woodlands Grove Care Home
24th August – Epping Horticultural Show – can we win more prizes for our allotment produce?
24th August – Annual fundraiser organised by Riverside Timber Recycling Project
9th September – Annual Trip to Southend for ACE Sports and Gardening members
For more details on all of these events, see the Events page
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