The Committee met on Friday, 17 February and (almost) finalised the Plan of activities for 2006. I will be contacting some of you to pin down details before we publish the final Plan on our website (now open to the public www.slowfood-oxon.org.uk), but I thought I would let you know on our next 3 events before it gets too late:

March 29, Wednesday, in Oxford, 6:30, venue to be confirmed – Launch of the Slow Food Oxon “Book Group” – Liz Wilding will be leading the group and you should e-mail her for details webeditor@slowfood-oxon.org.uk

The book Liz suggested for the first meeting is Last Chance to Eat: The Fate of Taste in a Fast Food World, by Gina Mallet, available in main book stores and at Amazon. If you don’t get to read the book, you are still welcome to the discussion and please bring along your suggestions for future themes/books. If you sign up by 22 March with Liz, she will let you know the venue, etc.

April 2, Sunday morning – trip to Slow Food Market in Bristol. Jane Carlton-Smith is leading on this event and she would like to know if you’d like come in a hired van or car-share. So, let her know ASAP, jcarlton-smith@brookes.ac.uk The trip will involve meeting some local Slow Food members, a tour of the market, shopping time and lunch at a SF recommended venue. Sign up deadline – 15 March

May,19, evening – Fund Raising dinner in support to SF UK Association. The date is likeily to change so will let you know as soon as we have a definite date 9anywhere after 18 May) and on the venue

Please follow our website for updates on our events, too. If you don’t have a user name and password for Members area, please e-mail our webmaster, Jeremy Rowntree webmaster@slowfood-oxon.org.uk . He would also be happy to hear your suggestions re: our website.

Below are some more news that came from various SF members and Headquarters:

Slow Food Cornwall Brunch Slow Food Cornwall presents a Country House Breakfast circa 1870 Hosted by Lord and Lady St Germans

Port Eliot, St Germans
Sunday 26th March 2006, 10am and 12.30pm featuring local produce from over 20 small Cornish producers. Tickets are £ 25 Slow Food members and £ 30 non members for the Brunch and £ 7.50 Slow Food member and £10 non-members for the Wild Food Walk. Please contact Angie Dodd, Slow Food Cornwall Secretary, on 07779 297717 or 01841 533 066 for further information.

Plase also join us for Slow Food Cornwall `Wild Food Walk Saturday 26th March (places limited), Port Eliot at 10am and 2pm, with Marcus Harrison of the Wild Food School, Lostwithiel

Cheese Matters

Please find attached letter from Cornish cheese maker Sue Proudfoot. Sue's letter highlights the difficulties faced by small cheese-makers who would like to get hold of a quality supply of milk. Many of you will be aware that the backdrop to Sue's story is common across the country and relates to the inability of dairy farmers to make a living out of anything but industrial scale milk production (and even then making that living is not guaranteed).

I wanted to bring it to your attention as I feel that there must be something Slow Food can do to highlight this issue to the general public but also to pick up the theme of the widespread threat and barriers to entry to small producers - not just those who make cheese - of artisan foods.

Terra Madre Update

Want to show your support? The Terra Madre Foundation is accepting donations to help pay the travel fees for food communities and cooks from developing countries. You can make a donation or ask for the contribution of organizations, foundations, businesses or individuals in your area. For any further details, you may contact Riccardo Sauvaigne by email, r.sauvaigne@slowfood.it or by phone, +39 0172 419709.