Author Archives: deansdiva

Murder and memories

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in-bitter-chill-pbWith the Books in the Castle festival just a few weeks away, another of its featured authors joins the Girls Around Town on next Sunday’s show…

Crime fiction writer, reviewer, blogger and reader Sarah Ward will be chatting to Tina and Sue in the first hour.

Both Sarah and this week’s guest Rebeccca Bradley will be speaking about their work in Murder She Wrote at the Castle, from 1pm on Saturday 9 July.

In the meantime, you can hear Sarah talking about her novel In Bitter Chill, which is set in the Derbyshire Peak District where she lives, and the sequel A Deadly Thaw which will be published in September, shortly after 10.15am.

ginnysbannerFrom murder to memories – the girls’ second guest in the studio next weekend is Hilary Wellington of Ginny’s Good Yarn.

Inspired by her grandmother Ginny Rawson, Hilary combines reflexive narrative with memories of learning textile craft skills in therapeutic sessions that work with all the senses, so everyone can engage with them.

An experienced and accredited adult educator with a Master’s degree in lifelong learning and inclusive education, Hilary is an Accredited Member of the National Association of Disability Practitioners and a qualified counsellor.

The services she offers include Piecing It Together, a series of patchwork and quilting sessions for bereaved people; Reminiscence Therapy, which draws on long term memory to reinforce an holistic sense of self, achievements and self esteem; and Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, a structured programme featuring discussion, sharing of opinions, activities, song and refreshments to support active brain function and social support.

To find out more about Hilary and Sarah, tune in or listen online between 10am and 12 noon on Sunday…

Pins and needles

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facial acupunctureJune‘s been on pins for months, waiting for the new book by Rebecca Bradley to be published – but it looks as if she won’t have to wait much longer.

One of the authors appearing at the second Books in the Castle festival next month, Rebecca will be chatting to the Girls Around Town shortly after 10.15am on Sunday.

A former police officer, she’ll be explaining why she turned to writing about crime instead of helping to solve it and the inspiration behind her first DI Hannah Robbins novel Shallow Waters. She might even be persuaded to drop a few hints about the storyline in the next one!

Then if you’re a bit squeamish about needles, you might want to look away in the second hour of the show! Oh no, wait – it’s radio so there’ll be nothing for you to see… And besides, the needles in question are so fine they’re hardly scary at all.

Hannah Townsend will be joining the girls after 11am to talk about the history of acupuncture and some of the conditions she uses this ancient therapy for when treating patients in her Southwell clinic.

She’ll also be explaining what made her decide to add facial acupuncture to the treatments she now offers, how it works, why it works and the kind of results it can achieve.

Make sure you tune in or listen online between 10am and 12 noon to find out more from Hannah and Rebecca – two very different guests but two equally fascinating interviews…

Sue’s gluten-free cookies

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pbbrowniecookiesAnother Chocolate Moment recipe for you to try, this one from Sue who brought samples to the studio for June and Tina on Sunday…

Freshly baked croissants from Gail Hooley and cookies from Sue – if you were listening in, you’ll already know there were treats galore for the Girls Around Town yesterday!

Crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle, these Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies are gluten-free, so they’re perfect if gluten is something you choose to avoid.

You can even make the dough in advance and pop it in the freezer – just defrost it, shape your cookies, top with the chopped hazelnuts and bake whenever you’re ready for a chocolate moment of your own!

GF Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies

  • Servings: 30 cookies
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 150gms butter
  • 190gms dark soft brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons of peanut butter
  • 1 egg
  • 100gms chocolate chips
  • 200gms gluten-free self raising flour
  • 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum
  • 50gms chopped hazelnuts
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped, roasted hazelnuts for decoration

Directions

  1. Beat together the butter and sugar, add the peanut butter and beat again.
  2. Add the egg and beat well.
  3. Add the chocolate chips, flour, cocoa powder, xanthan gum and hazelnuts and fold in.
  4. Place the bowl in the fridge for 30 mins to chill. Grease 2 baking sheets.
  5. Heat the oven to 200OC (180OC fan) or gas mark 6.
  6. Taking tablespoons of the mixture, roll into balls and place on the greased baking sheets.
  7. Squash each ball down with a fork and sprinkle a few of the roasted hazelnuts on each cookie.
  8. Bake for 14 minutes – they should be crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle.