English Christmas Dinner

Last call for your scrap metal

NEXT Saturday, August 13 is the last opportunity for anybody who wishes to dispose of Scrap Metal including batteries, motors, old farm Machinery, cars, household items etc. Everything metal except fridges and freezers. Bring to the GAA Pitch Newmarket between 10am and 3pm on Saturday next. Collection service available in advance by contacting Dan on 0877985634 or any of the committee. Clean up the environment and in doing so Help Newmarket GAA Clubs. CANON SHEEHAN SHORT STORY AWARD WINNER: Congratulations to local English teacher, Mary Angland, formerly of Newmarket and now living in Kanturk, on winning the Canon Sheehan Short Story Award in the Doneraile Literary and Arts Festival which took place over the weekend. There was tremendous interest in the competition with entries coming from USA, Britain, Australia, France and, of course, Ireland itself. According to the judges, Mary's story was chosen for "its emotive display of human character, its often poetic use of language and most importantly for its ability to linger in the thoughts of the reader long after it was read". We hope this is but the beginning of a very successful literary career for Mary and we wish her continued success with her writing in the future. She was presented with the Canon Sheehan Perpetual Trophy and a cheque for €1000. SUMMER OUTING: Summer outing for senior citizens and their friends takes place on Sunday, August 14. After morning coffee in Macroom, we will visit Gougane Barra, then we will enjoy our lunch at the Maritime Hotel in Bantry followed by a stroll around Glengarriff followed by dinner at the Kenmare Bay Hotel. Bus leaving at 9.30am. All are welcome. Please contact Bridie on 02960425 or Mary on 02960444.

TOWNS DEVELOPMENT: The Newmarket Community Development Association are organizing a sponsored walk on Sunday , August 21 at Torc Mountain. This will be a much easier walk than last year and would be a great family day out. Directions: Take the left road directly after the entrance to Muckross House (not signposted). After one mile approximately, you will come to a large carpark and we will meet there. Money raised will be used to fund maintenance of the town park, the pitch and putt course, the camp site, new Christmas lights, paddys day parade, landscaping and other projects to help make our town a great place to live. Sponsorship cards are available from Ollie Dugdale and Éilis Hourigan. You can also email contact@athtrasna.com for a copy of the form too. IRD DUHALLOW: Newmarket After Schools: The Newmarket After Schools will reopen from 2-6pm Monday to Friday in September when children return to school. Currently transport is available from Lismire and Newmarket Schools. A route can also be piloted from Kanturk Schools if there is sufficient demand from families. Please note IRD Duhallow offers a tiered pricing system for families in receipt of a social welfare. If you are interested in sending your child to the after-schools please contact Helen at 029-60633. HERITAGE WEEK: This year National Heritage Week takes place from the August 2028 and IRD Duhallow will be hosting a number of events during the week. Firstly on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 24 an exhibition will take place in the James O'Keeffe Institute Newmarket from 2pm – 10pm on the 1938 Irish Folklore Commission National Schools Project which schools in Duhallow took part in. At this event people will have an opportunity to read extracts from the stories that pupils at the time wrote and search for their ancestors hand written stories. Secondly on Sunday 28th August a tour of the holy wells in Duhallow will take place at 2pm departing from the James O'Keeffe Institute by bus. Both events are free of charge. For further information on the exhibition and the holy wells and to book a place on the tour please contact Helen O'Sullivan at 02960633. GAA LOTTO: The result of the draw held on August 1st was as follows: Sequence: 4,8, 9, 29. Jackpot: €5,000. The lucky dip winners were Aoife Cronin (West End) who received €50, Dan Joe O'callaghan ( Liscarroll), John Lane, Joan (c/o Fruit and Veg) and Neilie McCarthy who received €30 each. GAA NEWS: An outstanding all round team performance in the opening quarter enabled Newmarket to set a commanding platform for victory in the fourth round of the Evening Echo Premier Intermediate Football Championship by 0-13 to 0-6 over Ballinora at Macroom on Sunday and thus progress to a quarter final date for the first time in three years. Ballinora registered the first score of the game on pointing a close in free in the second minute but Newmarket's response was swift with Nicky Flanagan putting the sides on terms by similar means in the fourth minute. Newmarket proceeded to dominate in every sector of the field with Colin O'Sullivan, Mark Reidy and TJ Bodie to the fore as they took control around the middle of the field. It was TJ Bodie who provided the finishing touches to some fine build up play with a well kicked point in the fifth minute and the alert Nicky Flanagan snapped over a point on reacting to an error in the Ballinora defence. In one of several forays into the attack Mark Reidy was on hand to kick Newmarket's fourth point in the seventh minute. The relentless pressure was maintained as TJ Bodie, Kevin O'Sullivan and Nicky Flanagan added to an impressive tally of seven points within the first 12 minutes of the contest. Ballinora had their second point in the 13th minute but Newmarket were not to be deterred as they commanded virtually every sector of the pitch. They enhanced their position with further points towards the end of the half as the prolific Nicky Flanagan added two points, one from a free and the second a spectacular score from distance as Newmarket went into the interval with a well deserved lead of 0-9 to 0-2. A far more mundane affair developed as the second half unfolded. Nicky Flanagan added to his tally in the fifth minute of the half but in contrast to the opening half, this proved to be the only score in a fifteen minute spell. Ballinora ended the scoreless period with two points in as many minutes but Kevin O'Sullivan restored a seven point advantage when kicking a fine point from a difficult angle. The game became sloppy as frequent showers of rain took its toll and several stoppages resulted. The introduction of Bart Daly and TJ Brosnan added impetus to Newmarket and despite conceding the next two points they completed the game in the ascendancy again. Nicky Flanagan and the industrious John Lane added to the scoreboard as Newmarket closed out a fine and convincing victory. The Newmarket team was David Quinlan, Sean Doody, Denys O'Brien, Brian O'Riordan, Barry O'Leary, Timothy Murphy, John Ryan, Mark Reidy ( 0-1), Colin O'Sullivan, David O'Flynn, Kevin O'Sullivan (0-2), Tony O'Keeffe, T.J. Bodie (0-2), Nicky Flanagan (0-7), John Lane (0-1). SUBS: Bart Daly, T.J.

My Healthy English Christmas Pudding – And Other Party Foods For ...

Party time and the festive season is never a good time for going healthy but here are some fabulous eating ideas that might help you to over indulge on healthy party foods rather than processed junk.

My fabulous festive pudding based on an English Christmas Pudding Recipe

My number one choice is a healthy festive pudding just like my Mum’s Christmas pudding recipe but much better! I would say that  because I created the recipe myself. It includes whole-meal bread crumbs, rolled oats, seeds and nuts, freshly squeezed juices, spices, bananas, raisins, natural yogurt (optional) and is laced with rum and beer.

The great thing about this pudding is that you don’t have to make it months ahead and leave it to mature. It is good right after cooking or you can make it a week or so before you plan to eat it. You will find a link to my unique recipe at the bottom of this article .

Healthy ways to cook your festive dinner

Rather than roasting potatoes in lard or meat fat, partly cook the potatoes then roast them in olive oil or rape seed oil. Lightly steam your vegetables so they retain the nutrition and are slightly crunchy to eat. I you are serving a gravy or sauce make it yourself using the juices from your roasting pan thickened with wholemeal flour and seasoned to your taste.

Stuffing offers a great opportunity to add some healthy nuts, seeds and fruits to your dish. So rather than using sausage meat, use wholemeal bread crumbs with chestnuts, dried fruits or crushed nuts and a range of chopped herbs

Nutrition packed canapés and finger foods

A really easy recipe is seed biscuits and they make a great base for serving delightful toppings on. Make a light pasty using olive oil, toasted sesame seed oil or hazelnut oil to rub into whole-meal flour. Then add roughly chopped sunflower and pumpkin seeds and pine kernels, seasoned with a little salt. Bind the dry ingredients together with mineral water. Roll the pastry out thin, cut into squares and cook on greased, grease-proof paper in a fairly hot oven until golden brown.

They are delicious, perfect for cocktail and finger food occasions. You can serve them with almost anything on top, such as smoked salmon, delectable cheeses or healthy raw vegetables such as cucumber or tomato circles, or just snack on them as they come with nothing on top.

Dips are always a favourite. Avocado dip is delicious and healthy. Serve it with vegetable sticks such as carrots celery and cucumbers and you have a really nutritious, colourful dish.

Country life

Mr. Bender's English Christmas dinner

The gentleman's magazine

A Christmas Dinner

Gentleman's magazine and historical chronicle