Road trip to the Chiplit festival 21st April 2013

We had a day trip over the border to Oxfordshire today, to attend the fabulous Chipping Norton Literary Festival.
We had front row tickets for afternoon tea with Jojo Moyes, and we had a great time. 
Jojo talked about her best seller Me Before You, and read an excerpt. it was the part where Lou first meets Will. It made me want to read the book again.
We were also lucky enough to hear Jojo's exclusive first reading from her new book. We can't wait to get our hands on a copy, it sounds like another hit. We were collectively sworn to secrecy, so sadly we can't tell you a thing about it.
We will certainly be back in Chipping Norton next year, and are now waiting for the brochure for the Cheltenham Lit Festival, to see if we can see any of our other favourite authors.

Apologies for the delay in posting this blog - for some reason it sat in 'drafts' for the last 2 months. (Note to self - must do better!)

Our May meeting

Apologies for the delay in letting you know how our April and May meetings went. Time just flies when the sun is shining. Oh no, wait a minute....?!

Clare has kindly written the following to let you know what happened in May, when she hosted our monthly meet.

Another great meeting of the Yummy Scrummy Pudding Club. Thank you  Ladies. Just one member short as Lucy was on her hols. I have to thank my daughter Beth for coming to my rescue and assembling puds at the last minute after I was told earlier in the day that I had to work the late shift until 7pm. Trust me to choose puds that needed last minute assembly!

She came up trumps and we enjoyed mini banoffee pies, hazelnut meringue cake and passionfruit melting moments. Suprisingly no alcohol included in the puds but most of us did enjoy a glass of wine.

So to this months book;

The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

This book was arguably one of our more contentious reads as we were divided into some who really loved it and some who didnt enjoy it and thought it was actually quite a depressing read.

Personally I fell into the category of loving it. Harold comes across as a gentle soul who decides that he must walk to Berwick upon Tweed to deliver a letter to Queenie (an old work colleague) who is dying in a hospice. He believes that as long as he keeps walking she will stay alive.
I found the story funny, touching and very poigniant in places. I thought that the descriptions of the surrounding countryside were beautiful and it was lovely to read about familiar places as his journey took him through the Cotswolds.

Most of us agreed that it was nice to read a book where the characters were of an older generation. We also agreed that it was very well written.

Our next book is Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussman, to be hosted by Susie.


Recipe
Passionfruit Melting Moments

Ingredients
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 cups plainflour
1/3 cup custard powder

Passionfruit Filling
60g butter, softened
1 large passionfruit
1 cup icing sugar, sifted

Method
1. Preheat oven to 160 deg C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream butter, vanilla and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Sift flour and custard powder over butter mixture. Beat on low speed until soft dough forms.
3. Roll heaped teaspoons of mixture into small balls. Place on trays. Using a fork lightly flatten each biscuit until 1cm thick. Bake for 15 mins or until firm. Cool on trays for 10 mins. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Make passion fruit filling: Using an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Stir in Passion fruit pulp and icing sugar..
5. Spread flat side of 1 biscuit with 1 teaspoon of filling. Top with another biscuit. Repeat with remaining biscuits and filling. Dust with icing sugar. Serve.

Clare xxx