NEW MEMBERS AND VISITORS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME
Contact Helen O’Donoghue on 830501 for more information
We had a good lot of members turn up on Tuesday 9th April for our meeting. Was it the temptation of chocolate samples or the celebration of our local W.I’s 75th birthday with a drink of bubbly and a delicious chocolate birthday cake?
Our speaker was Deanna de Burgh who founded her company Coca-Bella in 2010 after a serious illness. Coca-Bella started off in Deanna’s outhouse but has now moved to slightly bigger premises in Mells where they make high quality handmade chocolates. Because it is a nut free environment she also has some varieties made in Cornwall. Deanna briefly took us through the history of chocolate and apparently there are still members of the Fry family living in Mells.
We then were told how to melt the chocolate at the right temperature and how you definitely need a steady hand to pour the mixture into the moulds; this should be done in a relaxed atmosphere and not a good idea to proceed after a gin and tonic!
What a wonderful variety of special chocolates were on display with Apple Crumble, Just Ginger and Cornish Sea Salt, to name just a few. We were shown a letter Deanna received from Buckingham Palace thanking her for the box of Corgi shaped chocolates she sent to the Queen to celebrate the Jubilee. The chocolates can be found at a variety of venues from school fairs to the Beaufort Hunt and are also stocked at many farm shops and Mole Valley. Part of the joy of making the chocolates is the pleasure Deanna gets from meeting so many different people. Well she was certainly generous with her tastings and we were all invited to help ourselves to the chocolates she had made. It was strange how we all got very talkative after eating chocolate – delicious!!
Then to celebrate our 75th Anniversary a wonderful chocolate cake, made by Louise, was cut by Stella, one of our longest serving members and Heidi our newest member. This went down very well with a glass of bubbly.
After coming down to earth we then discussed our WI business. We have a walk on 20th May which starts at the White Horse, this is to support ACWW. The walk will end at the pub for a buffet supper. We were pleased to hear our skittles team did well coming 2nd in our division.
The next meeting is on 14th May, when we will discuss and vote on the Resolutions for the Annual General Meeting taking place at Cardiff on 1st June this year. This is always a lively and informative meeting so do come along and say what you think!
Pam Perry