Me and some of my Funky Little Choir friends in a Morrisons Advert!

Sandie the Musical director of The Funky Little Choir was approached by a production company to see if she had a group of 5 choir members who were Mum's and would be happy to appear in a Morrisons advert. I of course jumped at the opportunity to see what it would be like working with a production crew and as I suspected it was a fantastic adventure.

It was a little later that we found out that they didn't want us to sing but to design and build a car which ran on something other then fuel. Being Mum's we of course rose to the challenge and did a fantastic job with the help of the totally brilliant Colin Furze our mentor and newly found friend (look him up on you tube  http://www.youtube.com/user/colinfurze he is as mad as a box of frogs).

The filming for the advert took place in a studio in Shoreditch, a very media focused area which had the 5 of us sticking out like sore thumbs in our bright stripes and White Stuff prints. We had about 30 people behind camera including the agency and the client which initially added a bit of  pressure but once we got into putting our car together we completely forgot they were there.

I made 60 pieces of millionares shortbread to take with me and at about 4pm everyone got stuck in, we had been on set since 6.30am so we needed the sugar hit. One of the sound guys came up to me and said "that was the nicest thing any of our contributiors have ever done for us". Never under estimate the gift of baking!
We had a fabulous time making this advert and loved working with the young enthusiastic team at Connected Pictures.

An 80th birthday cake for a very special chap

Bournemouth Echo

3:00pm Wednesday 12th September 2012 in Christchurch By Katie Clark

Meet Jack, the 80-year-old classroom helper

 

 

BIRTHDAY: Staff and pupils of Mudeford Infants School celebrate the 80th birthday of Jack Kynaston

A classroom volunteer is still helping out at school - at the age of 80.
Jack Kynaston has been volunteering at Mudeford Infants in Queens Road, Christchurch, for the past 15 years, helping youngsters with their reading as well as starting a dominoes club. To mark his 80th birthday, he was presented with a special cake by headteacher Duncan Churchill.
A former local policeman, Jack started helping out five mornings a week when he began bringing his granddaughter into school.
And as well as building impressive backdrops for school performances and wooden cars for the pupils to paint, he also keeps the staff entertained with his jokes and quips.

In honour of his special birthday, school governor Sarah Wood baked a masterpiece of a cake complete with edible dominoes for Jack to share with his year one class.
He said: “It’s a lovely surprise. I genuinely love everything I do here. It’s a pleasure to watch the youngsters grow up during the year and see them go on their way.
“I’ll keep coming as long as my wife lets me. Some of the things they come out with are brilliant. Every day is different here.”
Head teacher, Duncan Churchill said: “Jack is so well-known in the area. He started volunteering and he has been here ever since.

“Jack has seen two head teachers come and go. He is truly high-valued here and at the beginning of every year, there is a competition for who will get Jack in their class. He is very popular.
“The children love him. They can have a different relationship with him than they can with us, and for some he is a lovely grandfatherly figure for them. We are so lucky to have him

The Beach Hut!

This is where me, my family and friends spend our summer. My husband's parents bought this hut over 30 years ago so he was lucky enough to do most of his growing up here and we intend the same for our children. It's a fabulous place to entertain as due to the location people are just happy to be here. On one of the few perfect evenings this summer I ended up feeding 22 people from a bbq made for 6!

View from the beach hut

The first time I stood on the front of the beach hut I looked at my 21 year old boyfriend and said "I'm going to marry you!". We celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks!!

My Kitchen!

We did some of the filming for Morrisons in my kitchen, the production company asked me to send over some photo's so I popped them on my blog for ease and speed. I was delighted that is looked so tidy and decided to keep them. As I remember just left of the bottom photo was a pile of school bags, toys, cookery books and newspapers!

Cherry Fruit Cake

I entered this cake into the Great Christchurch Bake Day and won! Lovely Jo Wheatley who won the Great British bake Off last year was one of the judges and was absolutely delightful. I got the idea for decorating the cake from my friend Fay who decorated her brothers wedding cake in a similar way but using purple, pink and green, it looked amazing.

Cherry Fruit Cake

Ingredients 
1 lb (450 g) currants
6 oz (175 g) sultanas
4 oz (110 g) raisins
3 oz (80 g) dried sour cherries
4 oz (110 g) dried cranberries
3 tablespoons cherry brandy, plus extra for feeding the cake once cooked
8 oz (225 g) plain flour
½ level teaspoon salt
¼ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg  ¼ level teaspoon Cinnamon
½ level teaspoon ground mixed spice
8 oz (225 g) unsalted butter
8 oz (225 g) soft brown sugar
4 large free range eggs
2 oz (50 g) pecans chopped
1 level dessertspoon black treacle
grated zest 1 lemon
grated zest 1 orange You will also need an 8 inch (20 cm) round cake tin or a 7 inch (18 cm) square tin, greased and lined with baking parchment. Tie a band of brown paper round the outside of the tin for extra protection Method 1. The day before you make the cake, weigh out the dried fruit and place it in a mixing bowl and mix in the cherry brandy as evenly and thoroughly as possible. Cover the bowl with a cling film and leave the fruit to absorb the brandy for a minimum of 12 hours. 2. Next day pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C) Sift the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl, lifting the sieve up high to give the flour a good airing. 3. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. 4. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add them to the creamed mixture a tablespoonful at a time; keep the whisk running until all the egg is incorporated. 5.  Fold the flour and spices into the mixture taking care not to knock out the air by using gentle, folding movements. 6.  Next fold in the dried fruit, chopped nuts and treacle followed by the grated lemon and orange zests 7. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Place a piece of baking parchment on top of the cake with a hole approximately 6cm in diameter on top of the cake. 8. Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4½-4¾ hours. Sometimes it can take up to ½-¾ hour longer than this, don't look till at least 4 hours have passed. 9. Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it to a wire rack to finish cooling. When it's cold 'feed' it – make small holes in the top and base of the cake with a cocktail stick or small skewer, then spoon over a few teaspoons of cherry brandy, wrap it in double baking paper secured with an elastic band and either wrap again in foil or store in an airtight container. You can now feed it at odd intervals until you need to ice or eat it. 10. Decorate with white marzipan and fondant roll out icing.