The Big Breakfast

Many readers of the weblog will have come to realise that eating is a very important part of what we do in the Society. On 21 June a small team comprising Steve Price, Sam Masters, Graham Oakley, Nick Bustin, Alan Roebuck and Carol Danenbergs set about the task of cooking a hearty “Orangeville Breakfast” for approximately 60 people.

It's all about preparation......

The 'secret' recipe is poured.

The idea for the breakfast originated from a conversation with Sean Dennision during his visit to GB earlier this year. It was during this conversation that Sean discovered that Nick did very little cooking at home, but had helped to prepare breakfast at a recent workshop he had attended in Orangeville. Sean thought it would be an ideal opportunity for Nick, Steve and a few others to learn how to organise and cook a simple meal for a group of people and this is how the idea of the “Orangeville Breakfast” came about.

The cookings underway.....

How do you like your sausages?

Early on the Sunday morning the ovens were turned on and trays of sausages and bacon started to cook. Eggs were beaten either for scrambling or as a key ingredient in “Mr Steve’s Fluffy Pancakes”. After a few hairy moments and Nick discovering the “panic” move, we managed to get food out on to the tables, with folk tucking into a hearty breakfast.

tucking in


a hearty breakfast indeed!

The morning proved to be a great learning experience on how to work together and organise the kitchen. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we managed to raise some additional funds for the National Building Fund which was an added bonus, and 56 people stayed on to participate in an Intensive.

I knew that extra pair of hands would come in useful!

We'll be doing it again, so watch out for the posters.

Sun and Fun at the AGM

Last weekend saw over 200 members gather for an Instructors Workshop and the Society's AGM at our European Centre at Colchester. The weather is traditionally hot and sunny and for our AGM and that held true to form, and the proceedings did get quite warm with that many participants. Luckily the hall is well aired and the new marquee helped by providing additional space to eat and rest, sheltered from the hot sun. Sadly there are no photos of the marquee being put up, but suffice to say that a good many burly (and not-so-burly) volunteers were on hand to start the job Friday night and finish it Saturday morning before the start of the workshop.

Members making use of the new marquee

The workshop was packed but as usual everyone managed to get along very well, and many people commented on the happy, positive and friendly atmosphere during the weekend. Indeed, several participants leaving on Sunday afternoon said that it had been something 'very special'. Certainly it was the best attended AGM for many years, if not ever! Proceedings took a little under two hours, and members kept up a good level of attention listening to the summaries of reports presented, not least of which was the report from the Society's Auditor's on the financial state of the organisation - which is very sound.

Food is always an important part of any workshop...

The National Committee met on Saturday evening to discuss the Society's continuing search for clubhouses, something that was close to Master Moy's heart and consequently forms a focus for much of our fund raising and energy. Having a home of our own is certainly something that is greatly appreciated by all who visit the Centre, or any other of our homes, and this contributes hugely to the success of such events.

...and then there is always lots of hard work and practice!

Back For More.....

Following on from the spectacular Grand Opening of our refurbished regional centre in Newport last year, many of us returned recently to celebrate its first anniversary. An international three day workshop was organised to mark the event, and this was crowned on the Saturday night by a formal Chinese banquet.

Plenty of dan yus - warming up? you bet!

The workshop was led by Frazer Smith from Canada, and two further guests from that branch of the Society, Andrew Hung (a director of the International Society) and Julie Poulin, flew in to take charge in the kitchen. We were also joined by another international director, Carmen Capilla from Spain, who is becoming a familiar visitor to our shores. Other branches represented included Denmark, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain and Costa Rica.

altogether now...Single Whip!

Frazer did a great job leading the 81 participants through 3 days of the workshop. The theme throughout was about working together, helping each other, and relaxing (a theme Frazer continued from his workshop in Ireland the week before). The hard work was interspersed by Frazer with insights into the process of dual cultivation, sharing his experience and knowledge in an encouraging and illuminating fashion. At one point, to illustrate some of the cultural background to what we do, he created a makeshift Taoist shrine using fruit, tables and images from the Centre, which many found fascinating, and around 40 members joined in a chanting session on the last day.

Andrew and Julie working in the kitchen

On the Saturday evening the culmination of many hours, days and weeks of planning was reached when guests and members sat down to a lavish Chinese Banquet. Andrew cooked with great spontaneity that belied the careful planning that went into cooking a nine course banquet for 120 people. Much care had been taken to ensure that everything was presented properly on the night, and the way that people worked together before, during and after the banquet demonstrated how these events can bring us closer together and strengthen the Society. It gave newer (as well as longer-serving) members a chance to see the Society from a wider perspective.

The Lion inspects the guests - yes, they'll do nicely!

The banquet was kicked off in spectacular fashion with a traditional Chinese Lion dance. This colourful and dynamic opening was a lively reminder of how well this started off the original celebrations last year. The Guest of Honour was Councillor Mark Whitcutt, Deputy Mayor of Newport, who gave a speech and stayed until the very end. As well as speeches, several members gave demonstrations of the various arts taught and practiced within the Society, to entertain the diners. A local Harpist was a wonderful addition to the event and showed how something not directly related to the Taoist arts or the TTCS can still be integrated with good effect into the evening. She provided a balance of culture to the evening.

demos - accompanied by Crispin's commentary

Now where's that food?

Despite such a long day of hard work (including all the clearing up) around 40 people were up practising till 1am when Andrew was teaching (and rumour has it some did not see their bed until 3.30am). This was an impressive demonstration of how keen people were to learn, and how hard they were prepared to work to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from an experienced international instructor who trained with Master Moy for many years.

OK, smile and say 'Chi'

Our sincere thanks to Andrew, Julie and Frazer for visiting and helping us with what turned out to be a memorable and hugely enjoyable celebration.