Alnmouth WI, March meeting

Although a bit on the chilly side, there was still a bit of light around, which gave us hope that spring may not be too far away when we made our way to Alnmouth WI’s March meeting.

It was a good turnout of members, both old and new, so Janis and Yvonne quickly got the meeting started by reminding us that our next meeting is the annual one, to think about joining the committee, and that volunteers are needed for a sub-committee to get ideas of how to celebrate our 100th birthday in 2018.

There were also a couple of nice invitations from local WIs, Embleton and Lesbury, plus Sue Ellis, our vice-president, owner of Seasons of Alnwick, has volunteered to host a Fashion Show at her premises on April 20, at 7pm. Tickets will be on sale at the next meeting.

Our speaker, Daniel Turnbull, of Turnbulls of Alnwick, was more than ready to demonstrate his skills with meat products after he was introduced by Janis.

He started off with a chicken, which he quickly spatchcocked, ready to pop in the oven, followed by creating two small roasts out of a shoulder of lamb, and finally his own version of a beef wellington, all of which looked delicious.

Throughout his endeavours he chatted and answered questions put to him by our members, such as how long he had been butchering. He started at weekends, aged 15, whilst still at school, leaving at 18 to go to university to study physics at the behest of his father Mark, son of John, son of Robert, et al, and returning three years later to the firm, where he is now firmly part of the family team.

It was an excellent presentation, both in his demonstration of his butchering skills and personality. We are very lucky to have such a well established family firm in our town that has survived the ups and downs of today’s climate.

The only negative thing to say is that as pleased as we were that certain members won these delectable treats in the raffle, we were very jealous. The consolation is that we can go to Turnbull’s any time and know they are available.

Sue Ellis gave Daniel an excellent vote of thanks on our behalf and asked him to choose the winner of this month’s competition, which was a rabbit, a nod to the Easter bunny. The winner was Jill Bourne and runner-up Caroline Martin.

The birthday flowers went to Celia Collinson.

A good chat and the usual cup of tea ended our pleasant evening.

Our next meeting in April is our annual meeting when our supper will be good, old fashioned pie and peas (Turnbull’s pie of course). Please bring your own plate, plus cutlery.