Sourdough bread

Signpost 12 (6 July)

This week we have a guest editor. Adam Rees brings us his top links and activities from around the internet including a virtual stroll on the sand dunes at Merthyr Mawr, a recipe for sourdough bread and some classic Welsh anthems to sing along to.

Over the last few months we have shared with you a range of activities and links that we thought you might like. We have had great feedback from readers and had some interesting suggestions for future issues. This week we have invited Adam Rees, Director of Community Impact for St. Monica Trust to be our guest editor and recommend some of his favourite things.

Hi, my name is Adam Rees, Director of Community Impact. My team and I coordinate the Trust’s work outside of our sites which includes gifts and grants for older people in the community, funding for charities working with older people and working with other organisations and funders to improve the quality of life of older people in the west of England.

I am delighted to tell you a bit about my life and to share some of my favourite links with you. As a proud Welshman there are a few suggestions that come from over the bridge but Bristol is now definitely my home!

REFLECT

  • When things are hectic and I’m feeling a bit stressed out, I like to get out for a walk. When I lived in Wales, one of my favourite escapes was to Ogmore by Sea and the neighbouring sand dunes, Merthyr Mawr, which is where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed. It is always so good to get out in the fresh air and tramp up and down the big dunes, reflecting on things before you get to the water's edge, turn around and make your way home. This video shows a wonderful birds eye view of the Merthyr Mawr sand dunes: https://youtu.be/vehPhlbCxl8

CONNECT

  • While I love living in Bristol, and definitely call it home, I am also a proud Welshman and like to connect back to my roots. There are always daffodils on the kitchen table in Spring, and my grandfather’s welshcake recipe makes an appearance for St. Davids Day. But on days when I’m feeling a bit homesick, Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood reminds me fondly of the accent and all of the characters in my small town growing up. You can listen to the whole play for voices here but my favourite part is when the character Reverend Eli Jenkins celebrates his small town of Llaregubb and you can listen to It here.

LEARN

  • Like so many other people in England, as the lockdown started, I ran to the supermarket for flour with the aim of finally learning how to make bread. I tried a few recipes with standard yeast but was then introduced to sourdough, using natural yeasts to help the bread rise rather than commercial yeast. It isn’t a quick process but the sourdough bread that I have made (and not burnt!) has been beautiful. Here is a recipe for a sourdough starter which is made over the course of a week, but with regular feeding can last years or even decades! Once you have a lively starter, you can then make a loaf like this.

DO

  • During lockdown, I have been focusing on my fitness, doing online gym classes and working out in my garage. My favourite class is called Tabata which is a form of High-Intensity Interval Training, also known as HIIT. Each workout is just four minutes long with 8 different exercises. You perform one exercise for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and then repeat with different exercises another 7 times.It can be an intense workout but as you can choose your exercises, there are ways of making it achievable. Here is a good article that shows you how to do a gentle Tabata workout.

INFORM

FUN

  • I couldn’t share my useful internet links with you without including some good old fashioned Welsh male voice choirs. I was raised on this music and while I can’t sing in tune, I still love to belt out the classics such as Men of Harlech, Calon Lan and Cwm Rhondda.

Please get in touch through our email communityimpact@stmonicatrust.org.uk and let us know how we are doing.

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