march 2011 - coeliac uk · web viewin the march 2012 southwold pier news it said: “gluten free...

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Beds and Mid Herts Group Group Organiser Treasurer Secretary Martin Cooper 80 Waterdell Lane Gosmore Hitchin Herts SG4 7QZ John Wilburn 21 Alder Close Baldock Herts SG7 6HN Pam Richardson 17 The Woodlands Broom Biggleswade Beds SG18 9NH H: 01462 436655 M: 07708 400363 H: 01462 894091 H: 01767 601966 M: 0774785 80 80 [email protected] g.uk johnandmarie@talktalk .net pamrichardson01@googlemail .com NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER 2012 (Large Print or PDF versions also available. Please contact Martin – details above) Hello everyone No, I wasn’t so keen on the watermark (the Coeliac UK symbol behind the text) that I put in the last newsletter either! The logo had been absent for a while so I was experimenting but it did obscure the text a bit. I hope you like this one more. Also new for this edition is a larger font size. It was smaller in the past because there was so much to say and so many to print, but I hope you like this better. Once again there’s lots to tell you about and two events for you to book. The first event is a Theatre night followed by a meal so I hope this will tickle the fancy of some of you. It’s on 1 st November so do please get your bookings in soon so that we can confirm numbers. We haven’t set a deadline for returning the forms this time – I hope I can trust you to be prompt! I was aiming to get the newsletter out by mid-September so sorry for the wait and the short notice for booking but I hope you will agree it was worth it. The next item is the Christmas meal and again, this will be a little different to usual. PAST EVENT REPORTS Tea/Coffee mornings at the Café in Sainsbury’s, Stevenage and Bedford You may recall that from June we relocated the later-in-the-month coffee morning – here’s Nikki’s report: “Wednesday 27th June 2012 saw the arrival of the 1st coffee morning to be held at Sainsbury’s Clapham Rd Bedford instead of at the Biggleswade store. Would they remember we were coming here instead? Would anybody turn up? We need not have worried; Sainsbury’s were very welcoming and allowed us to rearrange seating as necessary and offered to make us GF toast and teacakes to buy if we wished. The event was hosted by Nikki and Pam from the committee and a further 6 people arrived to support us. All were very pleased to see an event at a local venue, some saying that this was the only way that they could attend. Coffee and GF products were consumed amongst a lively conversation and everyone attending seemed to enjoy the event. Here’s to next month!” Well, ‘next month’ (July) saw 8 people and in August there were 12 thanks to Pat’s (another committee member) phone skills drumming up trade! We also had a new member turn up who had seen it advertised at North Wing, Bedford Hospital where another member had taken it upon herself to do some advertising on our behalf! Keep it up! 1

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Page 1: March 2011 - Coeliac UK · Web viewIn the March 2012 Southwold Pier News it said: “Gluten Free Batter Day: Don't forget that we serve Gluten-Free fish & chips, sausage & chips,

Beds and Mid Herts Group

Group Organiser Treasurer SecretaryMartin Cooper80 Waterdell LaneGosmoreHitchinHertsSG4 7QZ

John Wilburn21 Alder CloseBaldockHertsSG7 6HN

Pam Richardson 17 The WoodlandsBroomBiggleswadeBedsSG18 9NH

H: 01462 436655M: 07708 400363

H: 01462 894091 H: 01767 601966M: 0774785 80 80

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER 2012(Large Print or PDF versions also available. Please contact Martin – details above)

Hello everyone

No, I wasn’t so keen on the watermark (the Coeliac UK symbol behind the text) that I put in the last newsletter either! The logo had been absent for a while so I was experimenting but it did obscure the text a bit. I hope you like this one more. Also new for this edition is a larger font size. It was smaller in the past because there was so much to say and so many to print, but I hope you like this better.

Once again there’s lots to tell you about and two events for you to book. The first event is a Theatre night followed by a meal so I hope this will tickle the fancy of some of you. It’s on 1st November so do please get your bookings in soon so that we can confirm numbers. We haven’t set a deadline for returning the forms this time – I hope I can trust you to be prompt! I was aiming to get the newsletter out by mid-September so sorry for the wait and the short notice for booking but I hope you will agree it was worth it. The next item is the Christmas meal and again, this will be a little different to usual.

PAST EVENT REPORTS

Tea/Coffee mornings at the Café in Sainsbury’s, Stevenage and Bedford

You may recall that from June we relocated the later-in-the-month coffee morning – here’s Nikki’s report: “Wednesday 27th June 2012 saw the arrival of the 1st coffee morning to be held at Sainsbury’s Clapham Rd Bedford instead of at the Biggleswade store. Would they remember we were coming here instead? Would anybody turn up? We need not have worried; Sainsbury’s were very welcoming and allowed us to rearrange seating as necessary and offered to make us GF toast and teacakes to buy if we wished. The event was hosted by Nikki and Pam from the committee and a further 6 people arrived to support us. All were very pleased to see an event at a local venue, some saying that this was the only way that they could attend. Coffee and GF products were consumed amongst a lively conversation and everyone attending seemed to enjoy the event. Here’s to next month!” Well, ‘next month’ (July) saw 8 people and in August there were 12 thanks to Pat’s (another committee member) phone skills drumming up trade! We also had a new member turn up who had seen it advertised at North Wing, Bedford Hospital where another member had taken it upon herself to do some advertising on our behalf! Keep it up!

The coffee morning at Corey’s Mill (Stevenage SG1 4AE) continues to be popular every first Monday in the month. It’s nice to see many of you coming back each month and we’re just as pleased to see new people too, so if you fancy a chat do please come along.

Strawberries & Cream Afternoon Tea – Sunday 24 th June

This was held at the sports pavilion in Whitwell and 42 members/partners attended. Debbie, Nikki and Pam from the committee, along with former committee member Marilyn Pearce prepared a delicious afternoon tea in very pleasant surroundings. Their aim was to serve members a totally GF tea similar to one that is served in smart London hotels, but priced at £9.50. Those who attended were not disappointed, as they tucked into a variety of sandwiches (crusts removed of course), quiches, sausage rolls, cheese scones and several other savoury items. This was followed by a vast selection of cakes and scones with jam and cream, everything being home-made. It was all served on beautifully decorated tables with smart cake stands etc. Many

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Page 2: March 2011 - Coeliac UK · Web viewIn the March 2012 Southwold Pier News it said: “Gluten Free Batter Day: Don't forget that we serve Gluten-Free fish & chips, sausage & chips,

of those who attended said it was the best GF tea they had tasted. The afternoon finished with items being sold on the Bring and Buy stall, and all the cakes left over from the tea were plated and bagged up and were quickly sold off.Warburton’s had generously donated the bread and other items for the day but the courier let them down which meant we had to quickly find 16 loaves from local supermarkets. Pam borrowed the cake stands and we liked them so much we have now bought some for the group for future events!

Several members asked the Smart Tea Team if they could give cookery demonstrations or if we could publish the recipes that were used at the tea so we are looking into this.

Day Trip to Brighton –30 th June

This was the group’s third trip to Brighton and 25 members/partners joined the coach for our drive down to the coast. It was a nice dry and bright day although a bit too breezy for sitting on the beach for too long. Most of the party sat down to a GF meal at Donatello’s Restaurant which was very enjoyable and following this we had a free afternoon before re-joining the coach for our journey home. Some went for a stroll around the shops while others went to the Pavilion. The number of people booking for the outing was lower than we hoped and it was feared we may have to cancel it or make a loss but we managed to downsize the coach and ended up with a contribution towards funds, thanks to the raffle.

Coeliac UK AGM –30 th June

The event at Sandown Park, Surrey coincided with the group outing to Brighton, so we were not able to send delegates this year.

New Members’ Event – Saturday 7 th July

This was the second New Members Meeting of the year and was held at Southend Community Centre in Stevenage. There was as usual an abundance of food provided by the committee, so it was a shame that only 6 people turned up despite an invitation being sent to 150 new members. However those who did attend derived great benefit from the conversations with Vera, Marie, Nikki, John and Martin and they went away with goody bags with items from Juvela, Perkier (mmm, chocolate brownie lollipops!) Nairn oatcakes and porridge and Genius bread kindly donated by Hitchin member Nicola Wilson. They have all been added to our database – not the goody bags! - and we hope they will gain benefit as active members.

We believe that these events are an essential part of the group’s purpose, which is why we began with 2 a year then 3, but due to the response we shall be going back to 2 a year from next year, but we will make sure that they are well publicised in advance.

All Things Healthy – Saturday 11 th August

This event was in Hitchin Market Square, organised by local health food and GF products shop The Health Emporium and it gave us and other wellbeing companies and charities a chance to raise awareness in the sunshine. It ran from 10.00.am to 4.00.pm and Martin, John, Marie, Nikki and Pam manned the stand throughout the day offering help and advice (and bread and cakes made by us!) to visitors from around the area.

Young Coeliacs Picnic in the Park – Wednesday 15 th August

Morfydd from the committee organised this event at Stockwood Discovery Centre, Luton. Again, invitations were sent to the 60 junior members of our group and about the same number were sent to juniors who appear on the main Coeliac UK database but who are not members of our group, but attendance was lower than hoped. Nevertheless those who did attend had a great time sharing their picnics, with Nikki and Pam bringing along contributions and helping out on the day. Thanks also to Dr Schaer for the Fresher for Longer loaves samples for the event.

Sunday Lunch – The Golden Fleece, Braughing – Sunday 9 th September

This was the first time that we have been here as a group, but we were in familiar hands because the owners once ran the George and Dragon at Watton at Stone where we went on a number of occasions. As expected the meal was excellent and it was a delight to see so many items on the varied menu that we can’t usually consider in a standard restaurant. When I first got the menu I had to read it twice as it looked too good to be

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Page 3: March 2011 - Coeliac UK · Web viewIn the March 2012 Southwold Pier News it said: “Gluten Free Batter Day: Don't forget that we serve Gluten-Free fish & chips, sausage & chips,

true – profiteroles? Bread & butter pudding? I should not have worried. There were about 24 of us there and everyone enjoyed it immensely. Don’t wait for us to arrange another trip there, before you go!

FUTURE EVENTS

Tea/Coffee mornings – First Monday and Last Wednesday of the Month

Don’t forget that the coffee morning on the last Wednesday of the month is now at Sainsbury’s Café in Clapham Road, Bedford, MK41 7PJ and we hope to see you there! Pam and Nikki will be there on: 31st October, 28th November and 26th December (but please check first in case Pam or Nikki are still sitting on Santa’s knee).

On the first Monday of every month our coffee morning is at Corey’s Mill store in Stevenage, SG1 4AE. John and Marie and Vera are usually there to greet you. The next ones are on: 5th November (remember, remember that one), 3rd December and 7th January.

Both are from 10am to around noon, offering an opportunity for an informal chat over coffee and cakes in the company of seasoned ‘GF professionals’. On most occasions Sainsbury’s provides us (free of charge) with samples from their Free From range. You will be more than welcome to come to either or both, for as long as you like.

Coeliac Masterclass for Health Professionals – 10 th October

The idea of this event was to invite healthcare professionals to an event all about what being a coeliac is like from ‘our side of the desk/counter’, so as to raise awareness of a different sort. This arose in response to some of the feedback we hear from members about what it feels like having symptoms and hoping for a diagnosis; when you are newly diagnosed; selecting your first GF items to try and how hard or easy it is to get a reliable supply. This was an idea intended for GPs, dietitians and pharmacists - especially now that they are more involved in the supply chain, at least in Beds. However, as I explored the practicalities more, it became clear that it was going to be easier to go to them that to expect them to come to us one evening. GPs and pharmacists already have training and education sessions arranged within their practices and local areas regularly and these are planned weeks ahead so instead, we will be contacting the relevant bodies offering to attend their events to spread the work and help raise understanding. I’m sure Dietitians have similar arrangements and we will be working with them in much the same way.

So to cut a long story short, this event will not now be going ahead but all the planning and the ideas raised will certainly be put to good use in other ways. If anyone would like to see a list of the issues we’d cover please contact me. I would welcome your thoughts and any other concerns that we should raise.

Peterborough Food Fair - Saturday 13 th October 2012

Another casualty of the recession, I’m afraid, but we have had to cancel the trip to Peterborough as fewer than ten people expressed an interest. If you would still like to go to the food fair, please make your own arrangements.

Show at the Market Theatre, Hitchin followed by dinner at Zizzi’s – 1 st November

We thought we would try something a little different. The Market Theatre in Hitchin has been going for over ten years, putting on a range of different presentations including comedies, scarys, historical plays, whodunnits, most written by Kirk, the artistic director. Joy and I have been going since the start and we have never been disappointed! All shows last about 1 hour with no interval and finish about 9pm. The theatre is in Sun Street, within 50 yards metres of about 20 places to eat.

The evening will begin at 7:30pm upstairs in The Long Bar for a pre-theatre drink. We’ll go down for 8pm to enjoy a production of The Flatmate, a comedy. Vanessa is looking for another girl to share her flat. She would like her flatmate to be respectable, straight-forward and ordinary. However, without really knowing how, she has offered the room to the fast-talking Tyler. Reluctantly Vanessa is carried along on Tyler's wave of unrestricted enthusiasm. Just when Vanessa feels that Tyler has gone too far, her life is unexpectedly changed forever...

After the play we can walk across the road to Zizzi’s, which has a GF menu including lamb shoulder, pork belly, Sea Bass and even pasta dishes. For more information see http://www.markettheatre.co.uk/ or call 01462 433553; http://www.zizzi.co.uk/food#filter=.menu-promo,.category-gluten-free or call 01462 440708.

You can book for the show and the meal, or just one or the other. The show is just £10 each. You can choose what you want at Zizzi’s from the menu and pay on the night, but we ask for a deposit of £5 when booking to get an idea of numbers.

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Page 4: March 2011 - Coeliac UK · Web viewIn the March 2012 Southwold Pier News it said: “Gluten Free Batter Day: Don't forget that we serve Gluten-Free fish & chips, sausage & chips,

New Members’ Event – Saturday 27 th October

Using the regular updates from Coeliac UK we invite those who have been diagnosed in the last six months to help them get used to the new way of life, and to sample a selection of GF products. The event is again at the Community Centre at Southend Close, Stevenage, from 10am until around 1pm. Invitations will be sent to all those joining Coeliac UK since 1st May, but if you have missed out on a previous chance and would like to be invited this time, please contact Marie on [email protected] or call 01462 894091 and we will make sure that you are included.

This is the third and last New Members event of the year. As I said above, response has been low for the last few of these events with numbers attending also low, so from next year we will be going back to two rather than three a year to see if this boosts numbers.

Hitchin Wine & Food Festival - 24/25-Nov

We have been invited to have a table at this event again this year, but we felt that as we have already done one event in the name of Coeliac Awareness in the town this year, we would make room for another charity to promote themselves. If you know of any forthcoming events in a town near you where we might have a stand to raise awareness and provide advice and support, please let me or a member of the committee know. Thanks to John Pearce from Hitchin Tilehouse Rotary for inviting us now and in the past and we wish the event every success.

Meanwhile, at the All Things Healthy day I met Bob Clarke from the Hitchin Mimram Rotary Club who invited me to speak at one of their dinners in October, so I’ll be raising awareness with the help of the Rotary club in another way – same meat, different (GF) gravy!

Christmas Meal – Saturday 1 st December

The Christmas celebration this year is in the usual venue of Westmill Community Centre, John Barker Place, Hitchin, SG5 2PG but we have a treat for you: the meal is being prepared by Taste Buds of Hitchin. Not only does Charlton run a very popular café with GF options sweet and savoury, he does outside catering too. When booking please make your choices from the following menu, which I hope you will agree sounds wonderful.

Starter - choose from:- Tomato and roasted red pepper soup, Beetroot and butternut squash soup, Smoked Mackerel Pate or fruit juiceMain - the selections are: - Vegetable Wellington (that's in pastry for those who don't know!), Honey Glazed Gammon and Turkey, Beef & Yorkshire Pudding all served with roast pots, lemon glazed carrots, sautéed Brussels sprouts, peas, roast parsnip.Dessert - as is tradition, the desserts will be made by the committee

The cost of the meal will be £15 adults, £7.50 under 16s. Please come along from 12:00 onwards and enjoy a glass of mulled wine,

followed by the meal which will be served at 12:30pm. As usual there will be a table quiz while we are dining. As we were going to press we learnt that our planned speaker is now not able to attend so we are currently making arrangements for an alternative, which will be either a cookery demonstration or a talk, which will start at 2:30pm. Members who do not wish to come for the meal are welcome to come along later just for the presentation, for which there is no additional charge but any donations are welcome.

After that there will be a tea/coffee break – do please bring along a cake or fruit loaf etc. to share, if you like – we’d appreciate that. About 4:30pm we will give the answers to the quiz and call the raffle.

As usual there will be a Bring and Buy stall and a raffle, and donations for either or both will be very welcome, thank you. There will also be a stall selling jewellery - Budding Beaders is a jewellery making group with over 20 members working in different materials using various techniques to make individually designed pieces. Items are made from glass, silver and handmade beads, as well as personally made pieces with beads and wire. The group demonstrates and sells its jewellery at events throughout the year. You will have an opportunity to buy for that ‘special person’ or treat yourself. A range of decorative Christmas decorations will also be on sale.

After the success of last year’s mince pie competition, this year there will be a Sausage Roll competition. You can submit up to SIX sausage rolls, which must be homemade using homemade pastry. They can be of any size, of any savoury filling within reason – there will be no penalties for being non-standard (whatever that is) in appearance or content as long as they are sausagy and rollish!. You can use shop-bought filling if you like and

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Page 5: March 2011 - Coeliac UK · Web viewIn the March 2012 Southwold Pier News it said: “Gluten Free Batter Day: Don't forget that we serve Gluten-Free fish & chips, sausage & chips,

you can add ingredients, as long as the result is GF! Judging will be on appearance, texture and flavour and there will be a prize for the winner. Entry will close at 2:30pm and the winner will be announced about 4:45pm before we draw the raffle.

Northamptonshire Food Fair - Saturday 8 th December, 2012

Coeliac UK drew to my attention to this event, organised by Nicola Walpole, a dietician from Northamptonshire. The event runs from 2–5pm with proceeds going to Coeliac UK. Exhibitors will include Juvela, Dr Schaer, Gluten Free Foods York, Pudology and Claire’s Cakery, with activities including Gluten Free Beer Tasting, Brass Band and Christmas Carol Singers. There will be refreshments including gluten free cakes and a raffle with lots of gluten free prizes. Entrance is £2.00, including a GF goodie bag, and it will be held at Orlingbury Village Hall, Rectory Lane, Orlingbury, Northants, NN14 1HY. Please go along and help make it a success!

Dates for your Diary

The AGM next year will be on 2nd March and there will be Pie & Mash for lunch we hope!

We will soon be contacting prospective suppliers to ask them to put the date of 14th September 2013 in their diaries, for the 3rd Home Counties Food Fair and later we will send out the invitations. If you know of a company who you would like us to invite please let me know soon.

Future Events for Juniors

We really like the idea of having a Juniors Section and it’s great that Morfydd has become our most recent Juniors’ organiser. Arranging events for the under 16s is always a challenge though, because of geographic problems (where to hold them?) and trying to please the very young and the teens at the same time. For the recent picnic we invited about 120 families of whom about ten responded and only 3 were able to attend, which was a bit disappointing so I’m wondering how we can do better for future events. We’re thinking of asking the mums and dads for ideas about what they’d like, when and where, so if we do get in touch please let us know what you think. I get emails inviting me to do or try things and if they are a personal email I always respond rather than just deleting willy-nilly, so I hope that others feel the same and that we will get a good response.

EAT IN ’ OUT LETS

If you have a pleasant experience in a shop or restaurant etc. please let me know and I will publish it here so others can also enjoy it …

Great news – GF pizzas at Zizzi’s and Prezzo! Ian from The Ingredient Co. (mentioned in previous newsletters) has developed a GF pizza mix (not frozen!) that is freshly prepared and can be topped with anything that the 'normal' version has. It is currently available in eleven of their 120 sites and we hope for a full national launch, maybe before Christmas. You can find them at: Loughton, Bluewater, The Strand, New Change (St. Paul's), Earl's Court and Notting Hill Gate plus further afield in Guildford, Farnham, Lincoln, Harrogate and Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Independently, according to an article on Coeliac UK’s website, since 16th July all Prezzo restaurants will have GF Classic Pizzas available. For more information contact your local branch or go to www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk

Sharon Hemmings recommends Frankie and Benny’s “New York Italian” diner in Goldington Road, Bedford (01234 33850) for those with children. She says “we went because we had a Kids Eat Free voucher from the Raring To Go magazine from school. The manageress Michaela could not have been more helpful. She ensured we had a waitress who was gluten intolerant herself and everything was double checked with the chef. The chips were shallow fried separately to ensure no contamination. They are very child friendly”. Apparently the burgers are all gluten free and the chain is thinking of introducing gluten free pasta although not available at present.

I had an email from Dave at The Gluten Free Kitchen who asked me to let you know that after a great deal of hard work and negotiating he’s managed to get their Apple Crumble & Bread and Butter pudding listed in selected Waitrose stores. If sales are good then this could lead to more lines and in more stores, so do please try them and we might see more. I know they are available in Ampthill and Rickmansworth, but if you don’t see them, please ask so the word gets around

I mentioned Perk!er In the last newsletter but they really do deserve another mention in this one. Ann sent me some samples of some new products for our last New Members event. These were 3 different chocolate tray cakes (brownie/marshmallow and tiffin), chocolate covered brownie lollies and different

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flavoured porridges. I have to say I thought they were fantastic so do try them. I gave some left-over ones to Joan our most senior member and her opinion was pretty much the same as mine!

Nicola Bennett, one of our members in Bishop's Stortford wrote to me in April (sorry Nicola – just re-found your email) highly recommends Fishy Biz in the town. Delicious, she says, and no pre-ordering!!

Another email, from Angela at Freedom Deli, tells me that by popular customer demand you can now buy a selection of their gluten & wheat free meals & pies through Ocado. They hope to to increase the range and add more stores to the list soon! http://www.ocado.com/webshop/getCategories.do?tags=36115

Member Jeannie Ireland from Dunstable has passed on a tip that was passed to her by someone in Watford who got it from someone in the Harrow Group - GF crepes are available in Watford Market! It seems there is “a fantastic couple who run a creperie in Watford Market, they cater for gluten-free and so she treated herself to a savoury crepe followed by a sweet crepe. Delicious!” They are called Master Crepes - 07535 048 331 - http://www.MasterCrepes.co.uk or [email protected].

There was a crepes stall called Truly Scrumptious at a recent food fair in Hitchin market square, too. The sign said ‘Gluten Free Available’ so when it was quiet I asked which ones were GF. He said everything was but, as is quite common, if they said that in big letters it would put non-GF customers off – what a world, eh? Anyway, don’t worry – I have invited them to our Food Fair next year and they seemed very keen!

M&S has introduced Made Without Wheat pasta which is made using a blend of rice and corn flour in Northern Italy. Apparently it is now widely available in stores in both Spaghetti and Penne versions. 500g £1.99 each.

Member Rita Leader emailed me in March (sorry for delay!) to say that Southwold Pier caters for coeliacs on the 1st Saturday of every month by providing gluten free fish and chips in the pier restaurant. In the March 2012 Southwold Pier News it said: “Gluten Free Batter Day: Don't forget that we serve Gluten-Free fish & chips, sausage & chips, cake and ice cream cones on the first Saturday of every month. So if you have family or friends who are Coeliacs, bring them along and give them a treat.” I checked and they are still doing it - people come from Northampton for them, apparently, says Antonia Bournes, from Southwold Pier!

Rita also tells me that the new sweetshop in Hertford called Sugacane has a selection of GF sweets for those with a sweet tooth amongst us.

I thought you might like to know that Freedom Deli is giving prizes away at the moment. If you are web-enabled follow them on facebook at www.facebook.co.uk/freedomdeli.co.uk for a chance to win weekly prizes like vouchers worth £60 or a trio of gluten free cookbooks. Secondly they are running a Coeliac UK Survey and if you want to be in with a chance to win a hamper worth £100 just email them at [email protected] and they will arrange for the survey to be sent to you.

For once, a Thumbs Down rather than Thumbs Up in this section. A few weeks ago Katie from our group arranged another get-together for the 20/30s members and they went to a pub in a village north-east of Bedford. I can’t tell you where for reasons you will realise. Here’s an extract from what Katie told me:

“I wanted to tell you about a truly disastrous restaurant experience I had recently [when] we decided to go to a nice restaurant/pub. We chose a pub whose website suggested that they were specialists in Gluten Free meals [and] I rang the restaurant to inform chef we were all coeliacs. I asked could they make us a Sunday Lunch, to which they said yes, including a vegetarian coeliac Sunday lunch too, so we booked.

“Things got off on the wrong foot a few minutes after we arrived: a waitress brought some wheat bread and a starter to our table even before we’d ordered. I explained that we were all coeliacs, had booked and spoken to the chef; she went away and came back to say we could have the normal Sunday lunch without the Yorkshires or stuffing and possibly gravy and they could make me some GF pasta with vegetables. We were all a little miffed so she went away again and the manager came to see us…” Katie continues, describing the ensuing conversation as “hostile and the worst experience of customer service I have ever encountered”. Instead they went to Sainsbury’s and bought a mountain of GF breads, olives, dips, crisps, choc etc. and had a lovely impromptu picnic in Bedford Park, sitting in the sunshine!

This is, I’m sure, an exceptional case in terms of what you can expect after you’ve called in advance, which usually results in a successful meal out!

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Louise Skelton from Simply Free has been in touch to tell us that they have now opened their first Gluten Free shop in Woodside, near Luton LU1 4DG. It’s on the animal farm complex so there’s plenty of parking and families can make a day of it by going to the farm too. They are looking at doing an official launch around October.

The following should probably come under EATIN’ FAR OUTLETS ! I’ve had a few emails recommending eateries found by members while they have been away so here they are in case you should find yourselves on the same road. Thanks to Ann Barlow, Marilyn Pearce, Judith Readman and Richard Gottfried for these.

o Ann’s been to Café Source, a gourmet restaurant in the Merchant City area of Glasgow. It is located in the basement of what was Glasgow’s second oldest Church. St Andrew’s in the Square, No 1 St Andrew’s Square, Calton, Glasgow, G1 5PP, 0141 548 6020. www.cafesource.co.uk

o She’s also visited Cardosi’s in Paisley. It is an Italian restaurant, but they do provide English (Scottish!) meals. They do not have a separate Gluten Free menu, but they can make any meal on the menu as Gluten Free. It is a little cheaper than the Café Source. 4 Storie Street, Paisley, PA1 2AR, 0141 889 5720. www.cardosis.com

o They also had a meal at Hamish’s Hoose, Not as good as Cardosi’s but the food was OK and they catered for Gluten Free meals. It’s literally below Paisley Gilmour Street Railway Station: 0141 561 7105. www.hamisheshoose.co.uk

o Marilyn visited Sherbourne in Dorset recently and found a wonderful tea/lunch outlet called Olivers, down the main High Street. They stocked no less than four choices of gluten free cake, most of which they tried during their stay - delicious. They are very GF savvy and also do lunches.

o Judith says that Brittany Ferries now do GF meals in their onboard restaurants. They dined in one of their restaurants in July and all they did was adapt whatever was on the menu so it was gluten free. http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/article/25599/new-season-new-menus

o Richard says that the Post Office Tea Rooms in St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex was well worth a visit. Most of the menu is GF and the owners are very knowledgeable. It's the only restaurant/tea room they eat at now, when they make their regular visits to Hastings.

o He adds that there is also a good cake stand - 1066 Cake Stand - at the Thursday Market in Hastings.

Morfydd contacted Subway regarding catering for coeliacs as they do not provide much at present. Their reply sounds promising… “We do not currently cater for coeliacs, however, our menu is under constant review and we are always looking for new ways to improve our range in order to deliver the best possible product to our customers. Our R&D team is currently working on how to be able to propose gluten free bread but we are still at early stages and at this point in time we do not know when we will have such products available.” …, but we’ll wait and see!

LOCATION REPORT

I was invited to attend a lecture on 12th June at the University of Hertfordshire, on the subject of Coeliac Disease: A Hidden Menace. This was one of a series of lectures hosted at the UH on a range of subjects, this one being on our specialist subject, hence the invitation. Anyone can attend, though, and they are free - just check the UH for details if you are interested. Anyway, Professor Nigel Baber, a coeliac himself, explained the condition, his own diagnosis, the science, research and theories, and living on a GF diet.

The audience was a mixture of healthcare professionals, coeliacs and just local people. At the end there were some good questions and I was able to add some information and answer questions about the group and the diet. I think we will even get some new members arising from it. I only heard about it shortly before but if there is a similar one in future I will let you all know..

INTERESTIN G IN F ORMATION

You might be aware already but just to let you know, Karen, one of our committee members had a minor heart attack in early August. She's fine now, luckily, but to cut a long story short she woke up feeling terrible but struggled into work, where they told her to go round the corner to the hospital. Within hours she was diagnosed, had a stent fitted, and is now back at home recovering for a few weeks before easing herself back into things. Get well soon, Karen!

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Page 8: March 2011 - Coeliac UK · Web viewIn the March 2012 Southwold Pier News it said: “Gluten Free Batter Day: Don't forget that we serve Gluten-Free fish & chips, sausage & chips,

Still on the subject of health, in early May we were all very sorry to hear that committee member Pat Cannon’s husband had passed away unexpectedly. I did not want to mention it in the June Newsletter as Pat was still adjusting following the news, although we sent condolences on behalf of you all, at the time.

I’ve been contacted by Ayshea Bliss from Nutrition Point – some of you might remember Ayshea from our Bring, Share & Try event a year or so ago, behind the Glutafin stand. She wanted to tell us about an event soon that may be of interest to us. Glutafin is hosting a Glutafin World Day on Saturday 6th October at Colchester United Football Ground, United Way, Mile End, Colchester, Essex, CO4 5UP. There will be 2 sessions: one between 10am and 12:30pm and the other between 2pm and 4:30pm. The event will include tasting sessions, cookery demonstrations and the opportunity to speak to dietitians. To book, please call 0800 988 2470 free, or e-mail [email protected] quoting 'COLCHESTER' as the e-mail subject. Colchester is only about 50 miles from Stevenage, roughly the centre of our area, so it’s not too far for some members. http://www.glutafin.co.uk/event/gluten-free-world-day---colchester/

Have you bought Genius bread, enjoyed it and decided to get it on prescription only to find that it wasn’t as good as you remember it? I learnt recently that the recipe used for the prescription version is the ‘original’ recipe, but the one available in shops is the much improved version. I spoke to them and they confirmed that they are looking to get the new recipe prescribable but as you can imagine this could take a while…

I was approached by The NHS Milton Keynes Clinical Commissioning Group Patient Congress which has become aware that despite Milton Keynes being recognised as a county since 1995 (yup - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/1769/article/8/made), there is no central group for the coeliacs in the MK area. The 43 Coeliac UK members are spread across Beds and Bucks groups, but of course there are many others who are not members of Coeliac UK, so he is looking into the idea of setting up a Milton Keynes group. I will keep you posted.

Have you heard about Howard the Celeriac? Howard was diagnosed with coeliac disease in 2005 and, like most of us, gets annoyed when the condition and the GF diet are not taken seriously. Howard loves comics and likes to draw so he has created a website where he puts the amusing situations that have happened to him into cartoons. They show the things that we are all familiar with, like the one below

They’re great fun and by showing the funny side they remind us that much worse things can happen to a person. You can see more at http://www.celeriacs.co.uk. Thanks to Richard Gottfried for putting me onto this – they’re really good!

As I write this it is exactly one year until our 3rd Food Fair, on 14th September 2013. We’d better get those invitations out, and we’ll be asking for volunteers nearer the time....

A bit more committee news: Vera Wagstaff won 2nd prize in the Fairy Cake section at the Baldock Horticultural Show on 14th July. We’re proud of you and so would Juvela be!

On the booking form in the last couple of newsletters we have included a note to say where you would prefer to be picked up for a trip so that, if there are enough people wanting that location and it fits in with the route, then we can try to include that point. I’m glad to say that this idea worked for the Brighton trip, meaning that some people who might otherwise not have booked or been able to come did so. This is one of the ways that we are trying to make the group more inclusive, so don’t be afraid to ask!

If you have recently joined Coeliac UK or thinking about it, a warm welcome to you and we hope you are coping OK. Coeliac UK notifies us regularly of members new to the group. One of our services is to contact them to ensure they are managing and invite them to join the group.

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Page 9: March 2011 - Coeliac UK · Web viewIn the March 2012 Southwold Pier News it said: “Gluten Free Batter Day: Don't forget that we serve Gluten-Free fish & chips, sausage & chips,

Member Sandra Broadbent has sent me more details of the Afternoon Tea at Luton Hoo. It seems they produce a good plate of GF sandwiches at lunchtime or with coffee, and a good afternoon tea. Coeliacs are given their own cake stand with a variety of small sandwiches with 5 different fillings, scones (though not as light as those at our Posh Tea, apparently!) and a few cakes. Very good for a special event or to take someone you wish to impress but quite expensive - afternoon tea was £26.00 each.

She also tells me that she was particularly fond of Trufree digestive biscuits but these are no longer available from most if not all GF food outlets, perhaps because they contained oats, which made them taste like any other digestives but could pose a problem for those who cannot tolerate oats. Anyway, she contacted Trufree customer Services who apologised but said that they are now available from their online shop. I checked and they are £1.75 a box and when I looked they were giving away a sample loaf at the same time – delivery is £3.95 regardless of number - http:/dsglutenfree healthilicious co.uk/Buy Info.aspx?p=20

According to Marilyn Pearce’s facebook page: "… amazed at the selection of Gluten Free rolls and sandwiches at The Wimbledon Tennis today, well done the All England Lawn Tennis Club - and of course Novak Djokovich follows a gluten free diet which has improved his game no end!!"

I saw a tin of Lo-Han-Chai (Assorted Oriental Delights) the other day - they looked and sounded nice. Naturally I checked the ingredients list and then I simply had to buy it! We are all used to seeing ‘may contain gluten’ etc. but take a look for yourself – gluten is the second ingredient! You can’t get much more ‘I can’t eat this’ than that so I bought it so you don’t have to! Joy says they weren’t that delightful, anyway.

If you run a GF business that you would like to publicise in a future newsletter, we would be happy to accept a donation to cover the cost of sending the newsletter to our postal members, and would be glad to publicise your endeavour.

It seems I confused some of you in the last issue, because the newsletter itself said the New Members’ event was on 1st but on the events list at the back it said 7th, which was correct. This is for members diagnosed in the last 6 months and don’t worry, all the right people were invited! I also had one or two dates wrong on the diary we publish but these have also now been corrected.

And finally, please note my new personal email address. From now on please write to me at [email protected] as I am closing down my old account [email protected]. The group email address [email protected] is still fully functional and any mail sent to that account is redirected to the new account.

Kind Regards

Group Organiser

http://www.coeliac.org.uk/get-involved/local-voluntary-support-group/group/beds-and-mid-hertshttp://www.facebook.com/#!/CoeliacBedsAndMidHerts

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Page 10: March 2011 - Coeliac UK · Web viewIn the March 2012 Southwold Pier News it said: “Gluten Free Batter Day: Don't forget that we serve Gluten-Free fish & chips, sausage & chips,

Beds and Mid Herts Group Coeliac UKEvents planned for 2012

Date DetailsFIRST MondayIn the month

Coffee morning at Sainsbury’s Stevenage 10am-12 1st Oct 5th Nov 3rd Dec 7th Jan

LAST Wednesday in the month

Coffee morning at Sainsbury’s BEDFORD 10am-1226th Sept 31st Oct 28th Nov 26th Dec

16-Jan 20s/30s Meal at VesuviO

Late January JANUARY Newsletter published

24-28 Jan Loch Long – 5 day trip

22-Feb Meal at Loch Fyne in Hertford

25-Feb New Members event – Southend Close, Stevenage

17-Mar AGM – Westmill Community Centre, Hitchin

24-Mar Bedford Coeliac Day

Late March MARCH Newsletter published

18-20 May Allergy Show, Olympia **

18/19-May Phyllis Ryland – Coffee evening and morning

14-20 May Coeliac Awareness Week

30-May Meal at Offley Oriental

Early June JUNE Newsletter published

24-Jun Strawberries & Cream Tea

30-Jun Trip to Brighton + Lunch

30 June Coeliac UK AGM

7 July New Members event

11 Aug All Things Healthy – Hitchin Market Square

15-Aug Young Coeliacs Picnic in the Park

09-Sep Meal at Golden Fleece, Braughing

Early Sept SEPTEMBER Newsletter published (a bit late)

13-Oct Peterborough Food Fair (no trip arranged now)

27-Oct New Members event – Southend Community Centre, Stevenage

1-Nov The Flatmate at Market Theatre, Hitchin + dinner at Zizzi’s

24/25-Nov Hitchin Wine & Food Festival (group not represented)

1 Dec Christmas Meal

9-Dec Trip to Thursford + Fish & Chips

** Details tbc

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Page 11: March 2011 - Coeliac UK · Web viewIn the March 2012 Southwold Pier News it said: “Gluten Free Batter Day: Don't forget that we serve Gluten-Free fish & chips, sausage & chips,

BEDS AND MID HERTS GROUPPlease return your Form & Cheque to:

Mr John Wilburn21 Alder Close, Baldock, Herts, SG7 6HN

Tel: 01462 894091Email: [email protected]

All cheques to be made payable to Coeliac UK Beds and Mid Herts Group.

Name: __________________________________ Tel No: ________________________________ Email: __________________________________

Details Price each

No. of coeliacs

No of Guests

Total £

The Flatmate at Market Theatre + dinner at Zizzi’s, Hitchin – Thursday 1st November The Flatmate (1hr, no interval)

Dinner at Zizzi’s (Deposit only - balance to be paid on the night)

£10

£5

Christmas Meal - Saturday 1st December 2012See newsletter for full details Starter

Tom & Red Pep soup Btroot & BNut Sqsh soup

Sm Makl Pate & Toast Fruit Juice

MainGammon & Turkey Beef Veg Wellngtn

£15adult

£7.50Under

16

Total amount of cheque enclosed

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