27 September. Nigel Wilson, a stalwart of Shepperton Aurora
Rotary since the club was formed in 1997, and his lovely wife Mary held a
farewell party in the garden of their house, to which friends, neighbours and
Rotarians were invited. They are moving
to a new home in Somerset. Nigel will be sorely missed at the Rotary Club. He
has always been good company, is one of our hardest workers, and is a kind and generous
man in many ways.
Nigel presents a cheque to the Riverside Youth Theatre
I was happy to accept the invitation in my role of
Consort, because my presence would
probably ensure a good number of attendees, and so it turned out. I was a little surprised to be asked to bring
a contribution to the party in terms of food, though. After all, without my
presence, there may not have even been a party worth speaking of, so I would
have thought they could have provided me with some vol-au-vents without me
having to bring my own.
The DG enjoys the party
Earlier this year, I was able to help the career of Nigel’s
daughter, actress Ruth Wilson, who I met at the Shepperton Aurora Prestige
Lecture. At the time she had already had
starring roles in the TV adaptation of Jane Eyre a few years back, and more
recently in the detective series Luther.
She had appeared in a number of films including Anna Karenina (which was made at Shepperton Studios), Saving Mr
Banks and the Hollywood blockbuster The Lone Ranger, in which she appeared with
Johnny Depp. At the Prestige Lecture she insisted that we had a photo taken together, and of course I was happy to oblige. A few weeks later she landed a major role in a US TV series. Some
might say that she would have got the role anyway, but I think most would agree
with me that the ‘Consort Effect’ had a
lot to do with it.
The photo that launched a career
Anyway, back to the party. Not being one to complain at my
treatment, I decided to wow the party with some home made Portuguese custard
tarts, called pasteis de nata. When we were in Lisbon last year, I fell in love
with these delicious little cakes, which we tended to have whenever we stopped
for a coffee, which was often. After we got home a colleague at work found a
recipe for them online, and I had a go at making them, with surprisingly good
results. So I made two batches of 12 for the party, and brought 21 with me
(obviously I had to taste a few to make sure they were OK). They were not
exactly works of art (I would call them
‘rustic’) but they tasted delicious and authentic. They all disappeared in a
very short time, which is proof enough of their quality.
Pasteis de nata (not mine)
I was not the only noteworthy chef at the party. Eric
Painter had made some curried pasties, which were quite delicious, and there
were lots of dips, and sausages, a variety of cheeses and lots more. I
particularly liked a beautiful Canterbury tart (made with apples and lemons)
but alas, I didn’t find out who made it. If I had done I would have asked for
the recipe.
A Canterbury tart
We tried to get all the members of Shepperton Aurora together
at the end for a photo with Nigel and Mary, but this took a long time, as
different people kept wandering off. Someone likened it to trying to herd
cats. Eventually, everyone came together, pictures were taken,
and we all headed off home. The DG and I got half way home then turned back, as
I had forgotten the Tupperware container in which I had brought my tarts. This is a
family heirloom.
Nigel (far left) and Mary (kneeling) with Shepperton Aurora Rotary
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