Blessed with a cool bright breezy day, a dozen or so of us walked David's farm, admiring the walnut and hazelnut trees, of which there must have been ten different varieties - all tasted, although not yet quite ripe. David grows many of the trees for timber, as selling nuts is not commercially viable on this scale and he runs a joinery and furniture making business. He is also growing several acres of hazel coppice, which is very popular for use as bean poles.

Dear Slow Food Members:

Slow Food Oxon is proposing the first Fungi Foray on the 29^th Oct as follows: It is organised by the parks section of the Oxford Council—they had a UK authority on Fungi as the leader last year. We need to book the numbers urgently as it tends to fill quickly. They haven’t advertised it yet so it would be good to get in first. The cost is about £5 each, very reasonable. Please, let Ian Bird know NOW if you are available and interested.

Did you know that today we rely on very few crop species for human consumption-less than 30 plants for example provide 95% of the world's nutrition. Indeed, in the past century Europe has lost nearly 85% of its agricultural products.

Slow Food launched a series of projects in UK to protect agricultural biodiversity. Through a series of dinners, Slow Food raised funds to defend the UK's agricultural heritage and gastronomic traditions.

Dear Slow Food Members and Supporters:

Past Events

Thank you all those who attended the Terra Madre dinner at Hardwick last Saturday. It was great pleasure to cater for such a noble cause and I have sent a cheque of a further £135 in support to Terra Madre 2006. There will be pictures and a write up in features on our website shortly.

Dear Slow Food Members,

We had another sumptuous meal on 13 June at the Chinese “Oriental Condor” in Oxford with the Chef generously giving away tips and cooking secrets. Pictures will be available on our website www.slowfood-oxon.org.uk. Many thanks to Geoffrey Whittle for organising the event and to all those who participated. Those of you who did not make it, we hope you watched the BBC2 programme about China, at the same time, giving an insight into cultural and economic changes currently undergoing in this great country.