March 2023

14 Buckden Roundabout March 2023 Village News & Pre - School Buckden WI At our February Meeting we enjoyed a talk by Eve Bacon entitled “ Spices in Medieval Society ”. Eve has a passion for spices that were used in the past and this showed in her talk. In medieval times rich people put spice in their food to show their wealth and, also to make their food tastier, British food at that time was bland. Eve had a table of different spices, some we still use today such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg mace, clove, peppers, and sugar. This was a surprise to some of us that sugar was a spice. Eve told us that birds made nests out of cinnamon sticks in medie- val times. Then meat had to be put on the ground for the birds to eat so that the cinnamon sticks could be collected. The mix- ing of cinnamon and ginger was a favourite of medieval cook- ing, present in most recipes. In medieval times cloves came from India and were used to flavour beef and pork. Eve told us it has medicinal properties to treat certain intestinal disorders. Nutmeg is the seed inside the shell of the fruit. A fibrous vivid red envelope covers the seed. The flavour of mace is somewhat stronger than that of the nut- meg seed. Eve told us about Grains of Paradise which came from South Africa. In medieval times it was used to flavour veal and chick- en dishes it is like a pepper taste. The plant is native to Liberia and Ghana. It is a perennial plant with rhizomes, of the same family as ginger. The dried seeds of the fruit are the Grains of Paradise. They were more appreciated in the medieval gastron- omy of 14th and 15th century. It has practically disappeared from the shelves of the today ’ s grocery stores. Saffron was a prized spice in the medieval cookery of England. Since the medieval cooks didn't have all those coloured vegeta- bles, such as tomatoes or sweet peppers, at their disposal, they would easily use saffron to give a yellow coloration to the dish- es, and parsley and other herbs for a colour green. Sugar was obtained from sugar cane, which was cultivated in the Middle East, in Spain and in Sicily. Sugar was therefore, like spices, an uncommon and expensive product. It was consid- ered both a spice and a medicine in medieval times. It was found in many recipes "for the sick". Eve made 14th century gingerbread for us all, which we en- joyed. Eve kept the audience enthralled as she is a very good lively speaker. We all enjoyed the evening and are looking for- ward to Eve coming again dressed as Queen Victoria and giving a talk about her. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 7th March at 7:30pm in the Millard Suite and it will be our Annual General Meeting followed by a social event. We warmly welcome new members and visitors so if you would like more information please contact: Ruth Nicholas – 07957 334142 Judith Armitage – 01480 811717 Maths and messy play have been the main themes of the last few weeks. Foam, paint, bubble wrap and cotton wool have encouraged the children to talk about texture and consistency. Funnels, syringes and pots have been available outside with warm water, stimulating conversation about size and capacity. The new waterproof all - in - one suits have proved very handy for this activity! We ’ ve also added more scooters outside, as these seem to be very popular at the moment, and they ’ re an enjoyable way for the children to exercise. As always, we ’ ve continued to follow the children ’ s interests and turn play into learning opportunities. Indoors, small world play with a Noah ’ s Ark set sparked interest in rainbows, ships and animals. We built on these interests by discussing what a rainbow really is, learning the ‘ animals went in two by two ’ song, and adding pirate ships and figurines to encourage imagi- native play. This tied in with an earlier activity in which the children had to dig to find treasure—buried ‘ gemstones ’ in the sand. To expand on the treasure - hunting activity, we intro- duced scales so that the children could weigh their finds and practise number recognition. We also had another treasure hunt for magnetic letters; let them make ‘ aged ’ treasure maps by staining paper with tea bags; and read the exciting interac- tive book, We ’ re Going on A Treasure Hunt ’ by Martha Mum- ford. We have already had our initial talk with Buckden Primary School regarding the new starters we will be sending to them in September. We ’ re steadily encouraging our July leavers to- wards greater independence, so that they feel more confident when the time comes to go to big school! Committee Members Still Needed Our current committee is still very small and include some members with very busy jobs, and not as much time to spare as they would like. This means we would still love some new members! We ’ re a friendly group, you won ’ t be asked to take on any tasks or responsibilities that you don ’ t want. Please contact Helen, our chairperson, or Debby, our treasurer, at buckdenpreschoolcommittee@gmail.com for more details. Is Your Child Aged 2 or Over? If your child is aged two or over, you are probably thinking about sending them to a preschool where they can make new friends, gain independence and learn new skills. To arrange a visit or apply for a place at Buckden Preschool, please call 01480 810600 or email us at buckdenpreschool@yahoo.co.uk. For more information, visit www.buckdenpreschool.co.uk or read our updates on https://www.facebook.com/ www.buckdenpreschool.co.uk/