It can be no coincidence that 7^th July has been designated World Chocolate Day, and as Chocolate and Coffee have a complimentary relationship, these chocolate flight and coffee pairings take the coffee drinking experience to a whole new level.

It is rare for me to get this excited, simply by opening a box, but that was exactly my reaction the minute I removed the lid of the Ultimate Coffee Selection from the Artisan Coffee Tasting Experience.

Beautifully laid out, this is without doubt the perfect gift for the coffee lover in your life or, in case my wife isn’t reading this, the perfect way to treat yourself. At £34.99 this will be a birthday or Christmas gift for a number of my coffee drinking friends this year.

Beautifully presented, the large box contains six different blends of coffee as ground coffee, coffee bags and coffee pods, which you may think is more than enough for a gift but then Artisan Coffee go one step further and pair each coffee blend with the very best chocolate pairing.

However, if you know which is your favourite, then you can buy smaller amounts of your blend of choice.

Coffee expert and Co-Founder of Artisan Coffee Co., Ashley Palmer Watts has carefully curated chocolate flights that are tailored to match each of Artisan Coffee Co.’s signature coffee characters and amplify the coffee in your cup.

With each coffee character you purchase, Artisan Coffee Co. includes the paired Chocolate Flight to match, they are also available to purchase individually.

However, it doesn’t matter how good the presentation, the taste of the coffee is what is important, and the Artisan Coffee Company does not disappoint.

This tasting experience allows you to carry out a personalised tasting with other people, but I am afraid that I am too grumpy in the morning to share coffee, and this was far too delicious to do so anyway.

My personal favourite was ‘Big Shot’ (yes you can make up your own jokes, as indeed my wife already has). Big Shot is rich and smooth with dark chocolate and vanilla taste. The notes made mention of gooey fudge brownie which I couldn’t detect but perhaps my palate is not as refined as I like to believe. The rich dark chocolate was a perfect accompaniment to the ‘Big Shot.’

The Enigma also lived up to the billing with a rather (at least to me) unusual (in a good way,) flavour, which was at once jammy with a rich chocolatey base. I loved this one almost as much as the ‘Big Shot’ and I thought, maybe a hint of liquorice, which illustrates why it is named The Enigma.

‘The Genius,’ was another sure fire hit, nutty with chocolatey undertones and delicious notes of pecans and raisins. Delicious

The three mentioned were my standout winners but I would happily drink any of the others again (and again and again.) and I suspect that were I to taste them again my top three could change.

If you like coffee and have a particular favourite brand, then I would suggest that these are a must try. There is even a decaffeinated coffee reassuringly called the Dreamer which I have yet to try because I need this other coffee to leave my system to give it fighting chance.

If you are reading this and thinking to yourself, surely, he can sip the coffee and then spit it out, before trying the next, let me just say that once I had tasted this coffee there was no way that I wasn’t finishing the cup, even If I didn’t sleep for days and I strongly suspect that this will be the same for you because it is so delicious.

https://www.artisancoffeeco.com/

Congratulations are in order –  Dani came runner up in “Diddi Driver 2023” which is the award for “Most motivated and driven franchise in 2023”  ‘An amazing achievement, well done you gorgeous girl,‘ cheers on Marion.
Aimee Green’s dancers were not to be outdone, and did fantastically well at the world championships in Blackpool. It is a very complicated marking system for outsiders but Aimee explained it to Marion, so Frost Magazine can now tell you (we think?!)  –  Aimee Green had two finalists: Maisie an under 12 beginner, who lost a life (whaaat? No, no, hang on everyone… ) it’s a good thing, you see,  as she needs to lose three lives to move up to the next grade. As Marion said,  ‘It’s tricky marking. So, well done princess, only two more lives to go.’

Adult championship finalist was the gorgeous Katy seen here with Aimee. The entire group did exceptionally well as they had dancers in the semis, quarters and recalls for the whole school. All  at Columbia are quite rightly extremely proud of these adorable girls and all credit goes to their supremely talented teacher Aimee Green who also celebrated her birthday that day.
On to more mundane, but very crucial matters: Arthur arrived  to complete the decorating snagging; Richard, the surveyor pitched up which was a pleasant surprise. He has not been too well of late, so everyone was glad to see he is on the mend and back to his adorable self.

Next came the men from Flowing Energy Solutions, to start to put our solar panels together ready for installation. Marion, of course, told them, ‘No shirking mind as I have you on CCTV.‘ Great blokes, working away merrily, apparently, as Marion shared with Frost Magazine. An engineer from Plus Net nipped in to sort out the badly behaved airwaves which keep encouraging the internet to drop in and out.

The next task was to clear the cellar as the CCA has been using this space to store everything during the refurb. And what a find … Surely these IZAL toilet rolls should be considered historical artefacts? Could they be worth a fortune? Oh, please, please… Marion wanted to auction off to the highest bidder. Or perhaps Beamish could use them. Or could they be framed? Just promise they will not be used because many remember IZAL well. We wait to hear the decision.

Bookings are great, as rooms are usually full, and Marion mentioned that CCA were visited by a lady who teaches Chair Based Yoga and is very keen to offer her services to the community. ‘I do believe this will generate a lot of interest, especially for the likes of me who can quite easily get down on the floor but cannot for the life of me get back up.‘ says Marion.

Jeane Coxon popped in to deliver some “ Forget me Not” plants, which Margaret, editor of Frost Magazine thinks are essential for every garden. They need to be potted up – another job to put on the list.

Food arrived as usual for the CCA Friday coffee morning, quiche, sausage rolls, mince pies, corned beef pie, cheese cake, lemon cake, cream scones. The lads fitting the solar panels couldn’t wait to tuck in and the team just love feeding the troops on the basis that happy workmen get the job done. On that point, solar panels are now up and running and providing all the electricity the CCA needs.

The weekend brings another jammed packed two days with dancers and the lovely Redeemed Christian Church of Christ.

But as always, the last word goes to Marion: From our house to your house have a wonderful week end no matter where it takes you.

Information: Columbia Community Association  Columbia uk Community Forum

Memories of Brady Square

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is fundamentally a play about things not being what they seem and how they are transformed by moonlight, by love, by magic. So, quite frankly, where could one find  a more appropriate setting for Figure’s production than Holland Park as evening fell.

Magic at any level is particularly tricky, but where better for Figure to create that kind of atmosphere than in a large tent in the park with dusk falling on stage, at the same time as it did outside in the park.  There you go – it could almost be the woods outside Athens…

The stage wraps itself around the orchestra pit, and the actors used it to great effect in this energetic production. Lengths of billowing or taut white material became trees in the forest, columns in the palace and even the embodiment of the dream state.

As is traditional, Theseus and Oberon and Hippolyta and Titania were played by the same two people, in this case Ray Fearon and Anna Leong Brophy, but additionally this cast had to work extremely hard as the Rude Mechanicals double up as the Fairies, and even Puck briefly becomes the Master of the Revels. This is a very physical performance and the cast give their all especially in the dance of the Mechanicals. Of course, they are all  miked up and on the first night there were some teething problems with the sound, but these will doubtless be ironed out.

As they should, these Midsummer lovers, take centre stage, and I must give a special mention to Eleanor Sutton’s Helena, who missed no opportunity to flex her comedic muscles to the great amusement of the audience.

One thing that stays the same in this always changing world of ours is that Shakespeare’s work continues to appeal across the generations, and it seems as though Figure is succeeding in bringing new audiences to this play and for this they  are to be congratulated. It was noticable that the audience appreciated that at the end of Act 3 the cast broke into a rendition of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get it On.’ Figure is not afraid of following 19^th Century classical music with 1970s soul.

Mendelssohn’s score, however, remains the star of the show, and I would love to have had more of it.That said, it would be difficult to see how this might be achieved without impacting on the running time. What I found particularly interesting was that the orchestra performed on musical instruments modelled on those used in the 19^th century at similar performances. This added yet more magic to this production as darkness well and truly fell over the park.

The orchestra, the sopranos: Rowan Pierce and Madison Nonoa, and the chorus were undoubtedly on top form and fully deserved the enthusiastic applause given by an appreciative audience who were left wanting more.

Images courtesy of Nick Rutter

 https://www.figureensemble.co.uk/events

Yep, better do my job thought your editor as she nipped along to St Lawrence Church in the village of Carlton Miniott, on the outskirts of Thirsk to review the concert presented by Music at Junction 50. Featuring Chamberlain and Haywood it promised a couple of interesting hours of music with a break for refreshments, or so she hoped, but one never knows.

‘Sit down, sit still, Dick and don’t fall asleep,’ was Margaret’s instruction to husband, praying she wouldn’t nod off either because she had stepped in as her Music Critic was reviewing A Midsummer Dream concert in the south.

Then in through the external door sauntered Michael Haywood playing clarinet as he continued down the aisle ( give that man a starring role in a drama emulating Frank Sinatra someone.) A great stirring of interest…

From the left of the alter not to be outdone, Paul Chamberlain sauntered in playing the accordian. Together they made extraordinary music; the church hummed with energy, excitement, enjoyment. No sleep for Dick, because he didn’t want to miss a moment. There was a general stiffening of spines all around, as attention was held by these two talented musicians who managed to combined excellence with a showmanship that reached out, and engaged the audience. Feet were tapping, people were smiling and wondering how on earth an accordian could mimic an orchestra? How on earth could a clarinet soar and sink, laugh and cry, as it seemed to do? To be replaced by a saxophone, a violin, a series of whistles.

On it went, with Paul Chamberlain, who a mere eighteen months ago underwent a successful heart transplant – yes, that’s what I said, a heart transplant, squeezing the buffers as I call them, in and out, while pressing a million different buttons, even recruiting his chin to press a button which produced a particular note (if memory serves). Meanwhile, Michael Haywood switched instruments with careless abandon, as the pair of them gathered us up into their spell, moving from Mozart, Galliano – Song for Joss (one of my favourites), and particularly Cafe 1930, then Paul’s composition inspired by a spell on Orkney which has many 1WW battleships sunk beneath the sea. So evocative, moving, and successful. Then over to Michael Haywood for the Wee Whistle Set, which was amusing, lighthearted, but didn’t in anyway disguise his skills.

Refreshments were a dream, chat chat, very full glasses of wine were sipped, and sipped again – ooh, lovely jubbly, leading to even more excited chats while Dick buttonholed Michael to talk about the Penny Whistle which Michael played. I didn’t understand a word, so can’t repeat. There were fabulous eats from the Baldersby ladies, because Baldersby’s St James’ congregation were to host the event but then the roof fell in – yes really – and the guys weren’t  even putting themselves through their paces, so we can’t blame them for raising, – or crashing – the roof. Baldersby’s loss was indeed Carlton Miniott’s gain.

The 2nd half was a similar romp, with Brahms followed by Angelis’ Romance, which made me cry, then Khachaturian, jazz, Tango, Polka, Monti – the end.

Oh no, don’t stop, so an encore and finally we let these young men, with big hearts, and even bigger talents as musicians and composers, give a final bow. But, we so didn’t want them to go. What a triumph. Encore, encore, come again, p-l-e-a-s-e, Paul and Michael, or we will all have to be groupies and follow you to every gig of the Hotscotch Ceilidh Band, in which you also play.

But they did promise to return. Yes, they did, so we will keep them to it.

Hearts lifted before everyone traipsed home, fortified by wine and eats, when the audience learned that Music at Junction 50 would welcome Mary Reid (harp)  and Ainsley Hamill  (vocalist) on 2nd September 2.30. And The All sorts on 28th September 7pm (Vocalists). Quite where, we have yet to hear.

Really truly we are spoiled in Thirsk, and surrounding area. We truly are.

Tickets and information:  Sue Brown – c.b.brown398@hotmail.co.uk or Colin Reid – colinreid97@yahoo.co.uk

To find out more about Hotscotch Ceilidh Band with Paul Chamberlain on accordian. Michael Haywood on fiddle and Jim Walker drums go to www.myceilidh.co.uk

Frost Magazine loves this week’s  book of the week from Joffe Books, Let’s just be Friends which is, quite frankly,  the perfect summer romance, from  RNA Joan Hessayon Award 2023 contender Katy Turner  which is out now from £0.99/$0/99  (*for a limited time only)

Holly has a five-year plan. But moving out of London to the Scottish highlands and falling in love is definitely not part of it . . .  Then she comes face-to-face with Greg Dunbar, the owner of the Scottish family farm she’s just moved in to. Neither of them are looking for romance, so they should just be friends . . . right? Yeah, yeah… if you say so. 
CLICK HERE TO GET LET’S JUST BE FRIENDS BY KATY TURNER FOR THE SPECIAL LAUNCH PRICE OF JUST £0.99 | $0.99

             
So what else is on the agenda? Perhaps try:

The West Wales Murder Mysteries Books 1-3 by P F Ford

Fabulous value box set: Detective Norman is out of retirement and back on the beat in a rainy Welsh seaside town. Llangwelli might be short on sunshine, but it’s certainly not short on murders . ..

The Playing Fields A Cotswold Murder Mystery by Stella Cameron

 Frost Magazine’s cup of tea: A body is found sprawled across the stage of the playing fields barn. Then another is discovered at the local cricket grounds.  Village sleuth and pub owner Alex Duggins is itching to help. But it’s only a matter of time before the killer strikes again.

Both £0/99/$0.99

For those with a more romantic streak Choc Lit has a great line-up. Look at a couple and then go and check out the website 

If you loved Poldark…

The Complete Cornish Tales (1-6) by Victoria Cornwall

FOR £0.99/$0.99 CONSIDER THIS BOX SET OF 6 UPLIFTING ROMANCES SET ON THE CORNISH COAST.

Travel through the eras of stunning Cornwall as you enjoy SIX novels packed with dashing heroes, gutsy heroines and unforgettable romance.

After which read Escape to the Art Cafe by Sue McDonagh

A feel good read FULL OF FRIENDSHIP AND FRESH STARTS.

When Flora Bexton is dumped on the eve of her birthday, she takes off on her now-ex’s motorbike to the Welsh coast. Then Aussie lifeguard Jake comes to the rescue. Is Flora willing to risk getting her heart broken again.

But back to the book of the week: let’s hear from author Katy Turner as she tells us about her journey from agent to author :

I worked at a literary agency in my 20s, and while I was reading widely while looking for clients, I always found myself coming back to romances. And secretly, I wanted to be writing them. In my lunch breaks, I would occasionally jot a few things down, plot out stories. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to write more, so I made a career shift to teaching, thinking I would write in holidays. Only that didn’t work, because training to be a teacher takes up all your holidays, and then — about a month after qualifying — I had my first child. Hardly a break, but I wrote during naps and after bedtime, joined the RNA’s New Writer’s Scheme (which is brilliant) and kept going and going.

What are you currently reading?    I always have more than one book on the go. I’m scaring myself reading Ultra-Processed People (Chris van Tulleken) and crying over Cesca Major’s Maybe This Time. I just finished Cressida McLaughlin’s lovely from Cornwall with Love and next up is CJ Connolly’s newest.

If you could have dinner with one of your characters, who would it be and why?  Can I not have all three? I love Holly, my lead — she’s quite a character, but I might go for Paolo. He’d cook something Italian, with plenty of carbs and some good wine, and would be very easy company.

Are you working on anything right now?  I am (when I’m not herding children). I’m a terrible procrastinator, but I’m about a quarter of the way through it. Which isn’t to say I might not change my mind and start again.

So, that’s it for now, but plenty more books obtainable from Joffe Books. It’s summer, there’s a heat wave, cool down with a good book: Joffe Books

Marion shared with Frost Magazine that last weekend they had been busy creating the invites for the Columbia Community Association’s OPEN DAY, such an exciting moment.  AND GUESS WHAT,  the team have signed the lease for your beloved Columbia Community Association Centre. Absolutely thrilling and a few glasses will surely be raised.

The team admit it has been a long, hard haul, with some snagging still to be done, but bit by bit they are getting there and simply can’t wait until the Columbia Community Association Centre is officially opened on Friday 28th July at 2 pm by Margaret Graham, the niece of Brady Square’s  Stan Newsome of the Long Pull.

Mind you, there’s still have work to do with Solar Panels next on the agenda.  As Marion says, she’s not sure they will ever be finished because every day still brings new challenges – and ideas (lock that woman up we hear everyone shout)

Corey is here doing the last of the flooring, two cupboards and the rear exit – and – for men and their sheds – the CCA’s  is now completed,

Sunderland City Council were true to their word as their men did their best to remove graffiti that some budding Banksy (not) painted on the air raid shelter some years ago.
Nick Owens is back from his 40-day Camino trek, so any minute now he will be making the CCA’s bespoke bench. Bravo that man: a friend of Margaret Graham’s did that trek and it’s not for the feeble hearted, or the weak of legs.  Red Shoes Bob has busied himself attending to the doors, as a couple of them needed to be trimmed after the new flooring was laid but at least he is having a respite from watering the plants as the CCA team hope the recent torrential rain will keep them hydrated for a couple of days.

After a visit to the garden centre; compost, and plants were planted in the lovely pots Alma O’Hare donated and as if by magic some brand new, spick and span pallets arrived for the CCA’s  raised beds. It would appear the Brady Square fairies seldom sleep.

Cultural Creatives held their last session for this termm during the week but they will be back in September and of course, Bingo day meant cream cakes  – such a hard life. The day trippers might not enjoy filling in their feedback form about Whitby, but needs must. It is needed for the Warm Spaces survey.

Kinaxia Logistics dropped off two pallets of equipment for the solar panels to be fitted and as always the coffee morning was great fun. The group grows and grows, like Topsy, but hardly surprising.

The news is still not over, as  we hear that Aimee Green’s dancers are taking part in the World Championships in Blackpool this weekend. Come on girls we are all behind you. Marion will let us know how you did next week amongst all CCA’s other news, but I fancy it might just be heading the list.  Marion’s final message for this week is:

Have a great week-end one and all.

Information: Columbia Community Association  Columbia uk Community Forum

Memories of Brady Square

It is difficult, almost impossible, not to be overawed by some of the works in this exhibition. Sculptures featuring stone and wood that were on this earth, some from three billion years ago, others much younger at a mere one or two billion years.

The work is tactile, inviting to the touch, demanding to be stroked and caressed, but where that takes you is up to you, but take you it will.

For me the echoes of time were embodied in the stone and wood, and the artist invites you to touch each piece, at first tentatively and then more surely.

Deep Time reveals the extraordinary, but little known three-billion-year history of our nation, told through the rocks that lie unnoticed beneath our feet.

The rocks exhibited in Deep Time are the oldest materials on earth which we are ever likely to encounter.

One of the exhibition highlights is Tower of Time, a 2.5m high sculpture featuring 16 rocks from Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and one which includes a 2.5-billion-year-old White Anorthosite rock which is the same type of rock found on the Moon and brought back by the Apollo 15 mission in 1971. On top of this tower the artist has placed a highly polished stainless-steel element symbolising the Industrial Revolution which also reflects the image of the viewer, head tilted back, to him or herself.

The standout piece for me, and one that kept drawing me back on several occasions was Torus of Time (Torus – a surface or solid formed by rotating a closed curve, especially a circle, about a line which lies in the same plane but does not intersect it (like a ring doughnut)). In other words, it is possible to slide one’s hand over the entire piece without ever having to leave the surface. This is a one metre diameter ring presenting the country’s 3 billion year history as a ‘circle of time’. Having all geological periods represented within one country is rare.

The hole at the centre of the piece draws the eye, and in my case at least, it was as if one could have dived through it and be transported to another time. Too much sun? Possibly. Too much science fiction? Again possibly, but this is a piece deserving of the highest praise, its surface smooth, and cool to the touch, a ring made up of various coloured pieces of polished stone, at once tactile and aesthetically pleasing.

Other pieces blend polished and rough untouched surfaces to great effect, there is so much to explore here that I suspect that one visit may not be enough, and my wife has already demanded that I accompany her, so that she can explore the exhibition for herself.

Elsewhere in the gallery, and no less breath-taking, are several sculptures made from teak. The teak was enroute from Yangon (then Rangoon) in July 1917 to Liverpool Dockyards when its cargo ship was torpedoed in the Irish Sea. Undisturbed for a century before it was raised and brought to the artist’s attention.

These works are very much a collaboration between Angela Palmer, marine wood boring insects and the sea. Such is the density of the teak the outer layer has scarcely been penetrated. The artist has polished the preserved wood in order to highlight its richly varied red hue, whilst leaving, untouched, nature’s carving to great effect.

This is an important exhibition and one well worth seeking out.

Deep Time: Uncovering Our Hidden Past

An exhibition of Sculpture by Angela Palmer

Wednesday 21^st June – Saturday 16^th September 2023  10.00am – 6.00pm

The Pangolin Gallery, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG

With CCTV to be sorted, the Columbia Community Association were so grateful that Simon was on hand to help with mounting the CCTV cameras, which is a massive help for Red Shoes Bob

Simon

CCA’s dear old friend Brain Mason, Car styling, was there to make our signs. He never lets the CCA down. Probably that Brady Square blood flowing through the veins, thinks Marion.

Kam and his lovely wife Regina, CCA’s wonderful Polish friends, came to clean, seal not to mention buff the hard floor in our Cross Streets room. Corey was scheduled to do the flooring on our store rooms.

The CCA have a deadline for claiming the funding for solar panels, so as always it’s been all systems go. As usual the world over, it is outside influences that hold things up, but fingers crossed the CCA will be successful and meet the criteria. Clayton, is calling round to discuss the issue this week.

Bob erected a 10ft shed, and as always he just gets on with it. ‘Where on earth would the refurbishment be without Marion and Red Shoes?‘ wonders Frost Magazine. While Bob was beavering Marion was busy with new plants to re-pot. She is so delighted at how the little patio area is developing and in time it will be a peaceful place to relax. Thank you to Gloria Nesbitt, who popped in to the centre with a  watering can. It is amazing what you can acquire through social media, especially the “Washington Wombles” site, where everything is free. Believe it or not  lovely Edith called in with yet another watering can, which the CCA was desperate to get hold of.

The CCA needs to collect quotes for cementing the area behind the new gates. Their  thoughts were if it is not silly money, maybe they could get funding, but it is just knowing who to go to. They have decided on a policy of let us wait and see. As Marion says they have learned along the way: Rome was not built in a day.

Bingo ladies were back this week and everyone was so pleased to see them all and sincerely hope they enjoyed their holiday to the Isle of Wight. Along the lines of travel the exciting news is that on Sunday, the CCA is funding a coach trip to Whitby, so fish, and chips for lunch that day. Frost Magazine hopes they have the most wonderful time. May the weather hold, as we hear talk of thunder storms.

Aimee’s dancers are practicing their socks off for the Biggy next weekend in Blackpool – only the World Championships. Just look at splendid bendy Wendy making incredible shapes.

The drainage team from Sunderland City Council arrived to clean the drains. Then, hot on their heels Corey Barnes brought his tape measure and sample book, and now only the fire exit and cupboard floors are left to do, then the CCA will have replaced every inch of flooring in this centre. The buffet arrived on Friday for the coffee morning as marvellous as usual. What could be better than: good food, great company and, in Marion’s words,  ‘Lorra lorra laughs, especially when you know who does the bingo.’

Everyone at Columbia Community Association hopes you are all enjoying the glorious sunshine, long may it last, stay safe everyone.

Information: Columbia Community Association  Columbia uk Community Forum

Memories of Brady Square