Welcome to the SRT blog No. 41 

19th February 2021 – Welcome to our blog post No. 41      

    It was Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, this last week. Did you know?…..

The word Shrove means to confess and this is exactly what Christians used to do before they indulged in pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. 

Christians would confess their sins at church and then go home to empty their cupboards before fasting for the next 40 days of Lent. This allowed Christians to enter the season of Lent and prepare for Easter with a clean spirit and home. 

Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between February 3 and March 9.  

In the UK, pancake races form an important part of the Shrove Tuesday celebrations – an opportunity for large numbers of people, often in fancy dress, to race down streets tossing pancakes. The object of the race is to get to the finishing line first, carrying a frying pan with a cooked pancake in it and flipping the pancake as you run. The most famous pancake race takes place at Olney in Buckinghamshire.  

The largest pancake ever made was in Rochdale, Greater Manchester in 1994. It was 15.01m in diameter, 2.5cm thick and weighed 3 tonnes. 

The record for the greatest number of pancake flips in 1 minute is 140, achieved by Brad Jolly in Australia. 

The highest pancake toss is 9.47m, achieved in New York in 2010. 

The most pancakes made in one hour by an individual is 1127 and was achieved by Erica Price in Tecumseh, Kansas, USA in 2016. 

A pancake is a thin, flat cake, made of batter and fried in a frying pan. A traditional English pancake is very thin and is served immediately. Golden syrup or lemon juice and caster sugar are the usual toppings for pancakes. The pancake has a very long history and is found in cookery books as far back as 1439.  

The ingredients for pancakes can be seen to symbolise four points of significance at this time of year:
Eggs ~ Creation  *   Flour ~ The staff of life   *  Salt ~ Wholesomeness   *  Milk ~ Purity 

Here’s a recipe… you don’t just have to eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday!  To make 8 or so pancakes you will need:  220g plain flour   *  pinch salt    *  large eggs    *  570ml milk

Sieve the flour & add salt .  Mix the eggs into the flour  & gradually add the milk to the mix and whisk well. Leave to stand for 30 minutes. Heat a little butter in a frying pan, pour in enough batter to cover the base of the pan and let it cook until the base of the pancake has browned. Then shake the pan to loosen the pancake and flip the pancake over to brown the other side.  

Add toppings of your choice & enjoy! 

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The sheep have now moved in with the goats at Northchurch in the back field.  

 

 

 

 

The goats really don’t have any table manners! 

but they do enjoy a brush….

 

 

 

 

Don’t think the sheep can quite make out what the pallet climbing frame is all about in the background. 

The Pigs are keeping warm in their straw filled, stable home. This photo doesn’t show big they have become. Surprised there is enough room for them to lay side by side still. 

The shop floor has now been completed. New tiles lain by Ray over the last week.  Grouted and now ready for a good brush and wash then the display stands can be moved back in and the stock added. Some new display kit is being made on site by the team and th3e shop will be opening again next week. Well done all! 

Northchurch have some new contract work they are now undertaking in Bovingdon Green – restoring the pond – that’s a wet and muddy one. 

Chloes posing with a broom whilst covid cleaning with style 

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Michael was spotted ‘walking the plank’ last week above the water line.  Plenty of wood chip has been lain around site this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting ready for the event of the week  – multi-tasking with 2 on the go. What a great technique. 

Everyone enjoyed a pancake on Tuesday with the filling of their choice, not just lemon juice and sugar for these teams 

Think there was a bit of all on this plate – raspberries, chocolate, cream and banana  

And then it was quiz time. Written and read by the trainees. 

Cool! 

 

Ashley giving the answers

 

 

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The Activity Centre have finished making all of the vermicompost bins ready for the worms arrival next week. A total of three recycled beehive boxes that could no longer be used and one made from thicker wood, in case the beehives do not go according to plan. The team also made a lid with two handles that has a bit of weight to it. This is designed so that when the weather gets warmer and we move the worms outdoors, it will stay put in windy conditions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The focus of the team has largely been within the fruit tree area. We have dug out 4 new allotment spaces and began levelling out the ground with the removed turf. Great effort from the team throughout the week with this, especially as the rain hasn’t helped! Also, within the area we have completed the 3 new raised beds from hazel and willow. 

 

 

 

 

The team have started a new job – to clear a disused shed and the clutter from an allotment spot. See the progression the team made in half days work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have temporarily repotted the parsley and given them a bit of a clean. We will be repurposing pallets for the herbs and then positioned outside the main building, close by for picking by the kitchen team. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here’s Olivia making her bird feeding kit last week …..

 

 

 

 

 

…and then the visiting birds