In April our speaker was Nettie from Craft House Chocolate, Somerton who told us about chocolate making (buying the beans and roasting to make chocolate) and chocolate crafting (buying in the chocolate to make products). As a chocolate maker, she emphasised the need to work with the farmers and pay a proper wage to enable them to dry and turn the beans effectively. She explained that beans from Central American countries and chocolate that identified the country of origin were of a higher quality. In contrast, industrial chocolate from the named brands often utilised beans from Africa, didn’t pay farmers well and overroasted the bean to compensate for poor quality drying processes. Nettie had brought along photos and examples of the beans and chocolate making process including jars demonstrating the proportions of ingredients in different strengths of chocolate. 6 SUMMER I S SUE | J ULY 2 0 2 6 Shapwick Starlets WI MARY-JANE HINCHLIFFE And in June a very different topic: Ursula Clarke Franklin’s talk on Mission Penguin. Her mission was to see and photograph all eighteen species of penguin across the Southern Hemisphere. This, along with focussing on work, was her way of dealing with the sudden death of her husband and the loss of other family members. She asked if any ladies had also seen penguins and about half a dozen of our members had, in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania, the Falklands and South Georgia. Ursula talked animatedly about her trips to the habitats of the various penguin groups. This was illustrated with photos of the penguins themselves and the vessels, geography and topography she encountered. Some remote places such as Tristan da Cunha could only be accessed once a year and by boat. In May Carol and Bob Northover showed us a selection from their collection of nutcrackers from different epochs and different parts of the world, the different methods used to crack nuts, such as the percussion method (hitting them between two objects) and the different Ursula’s stories were both humorous and inspirational. For example, she talked about a colony of penguins on the Falklands; you could tell they were from a British Overseas Protectorate as they formed an orderly queue to take a freshwater shower. It was clear that her adventures had helped with her grief journey. On being asked what next, she talked about a greater awareness of engaging in responsible tourism, including the acknowledgment that places such as the Galápagos Islands rely on tourism to enable them to do conservation work. Arts and Crafts Group Shapwick Arts and Crafts Group continues to meet every Thursday afternoon in the village hall from 2 until 4pm. We have a super selection of resources to choose from including the new addition of needle felting. You are also welcome to bring your own projects. MARGARET DOBBS Please come along and relax with a couple of hours of crafting and enjoy a delicious cake and cuppa. Only £5. All welcome, you do not have to be an artist! materials used, from wood, iron, brass, bronze, silver, porcelain to plastic. They told enthralling stories of how they started collecting and came across some of their finds. Many were from antiques fairs in Shepton Mallet and other local venues. Their donation from the talk would go to the charity Sight Savers which was dear to their hearts.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NzI=