STRICTLY COME NETBALL!!!!

England Netball are pleased to announce that Strictly Come Dancing Stars, Darren and Lilia will be performing at this year’s Goalden Globe Awards.

Download your booking form this Bank Holiday weekend and book your tickets before they sell out!

England Netball’s annual volunteer recognition event supported by California Prunes, is taking place on

Saturday 18th September 2010, at the Athena in Leicester.

This amazing Art Deco building was originally a cinema and now its stunning decor has inspired the 1920’s theme for the evening.

This prestigious event will commence at 6.00pm with the California Prunes Pre Award Party.

Cocktails and canapés will be served before moving into the banqueting hall for the Awards Ceremony, three course dinner, music and dancing into the early hours.

INVITE

We would like to invite every netball player and volunteer to attend this year’s event.

Tickets can be purchased at £36 each or £280 for a table. Tables seat a maximum of 8 people.

To download your official invite go to: http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/volunteers/Goalden-Globe-Awards/

TICKETS

To purchase tickets please complete the booking form which can be downloaded at

http://www.englandnetball.co.uk/volunteers/Goalden-Globe-Awards/

and return to England Netball by Wednesday 8th September 2010

I hope that you are able to join us at the event. If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to contact me:

rebeccas@englandnetball.co.uk or call 07834 500190

California Prunes are excited to announce that Commonwealth Games England together with England Netball  have revealed the 12 strong squad that will be travelling to Delhi in October; to challenge Australia for the Gold Medal.

England’s netballers won bronze to mark the sport’s Games’ debut in 1998 and repeated that feat in 2006 in Melbourne.

Karen Atkinson and Sonia Mkoloma will Co-Captain the team and together they have accumulated 193 caps. On learning of the players named in the squad, Karen Atkinson commented; “The selection for the Delhi Commonwealth Games was the most closely fought of any I have ever been part of. The selected team is an exciting mix of youth and experience and we are now looking forward to our up coming tour of Jamaica. We’re all very excited about India and can’t wait to compete as England”.

Sue Hawkins, England National Coach worked closely with the selectors to select the final 12. Having recently travelled to Australia to complete a two week training tour with the England Netball long squad, Sue Hawkins is confident the team will succeed in Delhi; “The team of 12 will represent all netballers in England and we are committed to showing the world that England is a force to be reckoned with. With Karen and Sonia as Co-Captains and Pamela Cookey as Vice Captain, we’ve got a leader in each third of the court so we’re aiming high and coming home without a medal isn’t an option.”

England Chef de Mission Craig Hunter welcomed the netballers into the England team today. He said: “Netball has always been a strong sport for England at the Games and we know that the current crop of players has been pushing the best in the world recently. We look forward to seeing them perform in Delhi”.

The England Netball team leave for Delhi on September 28th and arrive in time to acclimatise and enjoy the opening ceremony on October 3rd before competing against, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, The Cook Islands, South Africa and Barbados in the Pool Play beginning October 4th.

The England netball team for 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India is:

Co-Captain Karen Atkinson
Born: 07.06.1978
Home town: Wigan, North West
Lives: Marlow, Buckinghamshire, South East
Netball Superleague team: Hertfordshire Mavericks

Co-Captain Sonia Mkoloma
Born: 17.01.1979
Home town: London
Lives: London
Netball Superleague team: Surrey Storm

Vice Captain Pamela Cookey
Born: 02.09.1984
Home town: Birmingham, West Midlands
Lives: Bristol, South West
Netball Superleague team: TeamBath

Sara Bayman
Born: 23.12.1984
Home town: Manchester, North West
Lives: Manchester, North West
Netball Superleague team: Northern Thunder

Eboni Beckford Chambers
Born: 27.02.1988
Home town: Solihull, West Midlands
Lives: Bristol, South West
Netball Superleague team: TeamBath

Louisa Brownfield
Born: 14.04.1984
Home town: Rochford, Essex, East
Lives: Essex, East
Netball Superleague team: Hertfordshire Mavericks

Jade Clarke
Born: 17.10.1983
Home town: Manchester, North West
Lives: Manchester, North West
Netball Superleague team: Northern Thunder

Rachel Dunn
Born: 14.11.1982
Home town: Cambridge, East
Lives: Cambridge, East
Netball Superleague team: Surrey Storm

Stacey Francis
Born: 01.01.1988
Home town: Birmingham, West Midlands
Lives: Bath, South West
Netball Superleague team: TeamBath

Joanne Harten
Born: 21.03.1989
Home town: Harlow, Essex, East
Lives: Harlow, Essex, East
Netball Superleague team: Loughborough Lightning

Tamsin Greenway
Born: 06.10.1982
Home town: Leicester, East Midlands
Lives: Trowbridge, South West
Netball Superleague team: Surrey Storm

Geva Mentor
Born: 17.09.1984
Home town: Bournemouth, South West
Lives: Bournemouth, South West
Netball Superleague team: Surrey Storm

England Netball National Coach – Sue Hawkins
England Netball Assistant National coach – Anna Mayes
England Netball Team Manager – Liz Bloor
England Netball Team Physiotherapist – Emma Batchelor

The 2010 Commonwealth Games take place in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. They will feature 17 sports – archery, aquatics (swimming, synchronised swimming & diving), athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, rugby 7s, shooting, squash, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. With the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Commonwealth Games England is entering a breath-taking four years of sport.

Commonwealth Games England (GCE) is the organisation responsible for selecting and organising England’s team at the Commonwealth Games. England finished second to Australia on the medal table at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games with 36 golds, 40 silvers and 34 bronzes.

Sport England is responsible for building the foundations of sporting success, by creating a world-leading community sport system of clubs, coaches, facilities and volunteers. Their focus is growing and sustaining the numbers of people taking part in sport and improving talent development to help more people excel.

For further information about Commonwealth Games England please contact the Commonwealth Games England press office at Matchtight Ltd on (01225) 443998 or 07831 755351 or see the CGE’s website at www.weareengland.org >

For further information about England netball:
Jo Adams
joanna.adams@englandnetball.co.uk

www.englandnetball.co.uk

This July 5-6 saw 200 delegates come together at the 13^th Annual Skills for Chefs Conference at the University of Sheffield. California Prunes were delighted to be involved, taking part in the exhibition for the second year running, providing samples for the annual ‘Skills for Chefs Culinary Competition’, as well as providing a selection of California prune breads produced by Artisan Baker, Peter Cook, of Price & Sons, Ludlow which were served at the Gala Dinner. Price & Sons recently received the accolade of being listed in the top ten small bakeries in the UK by the Sunday Times (3 July, 2010)

The conference provides the opportunity for leading chef’s to share their skills and knowledge alongside an exhibition designed to bring together food professionals from across the industry. California Prunes were present throughout the conference with a stand and provided all delegates with a copy of ‘The Food Professional’s Guide to California Prunes’ as well as product samples including prune puree, plum concentrate, prune powder and plum kernel oil. A number of well renowned chefs demonstrated over the 2 days, including Atul Kochhar, Mark Hix and Giorgio Locatelli.

The Key note address at the event by Catherine Gazzoli of Slow Food UK encouraged chefs to embrace the philosophy of cooking using food that respects the environment, human health and animal welfare. California Prunes have great synergy here, with a commitment to a sustainable industry that begins in the orchard and an industry developed Integrated Prune Farming Practice as well as the final product which provides a number of dietary benefits. As the relationship between eating and health, particularly the focus on conditions such as obesity continues, California Prunes believe strongly in continuing to increase awareness and understanding of the health benefits of prunes.

The two day event culminated in the conference gala dinner where Martin Carabott from The Gleneagles Resort was announced winner of the Skills for Chefs culinary competition. California prunes were included in the competition, in which chefs had to create an innovative dish using a designated set of ingredients. The winning dish was slow cooked Blythburgh pork fillet, California prunes and Armagnac jus. Guests to the dinner were also served with a selection of California prune breads produced by Artisan baker, Price & Sons of Ludlow.

California Prunes have an affinity with many other foods, both savory and sweet, making them the ideal recipe ingredient. Having developed a range of prune derived ingredients for the food professional, California prunes hope to continue to meet demand for pure and functional ingredients and to provide inspiration for food developers.

For recipe inspiration at home, please check out our recipe pages

Martin Carrabott's winning dish of Blythburgh pork fillet, California prunes and Armagnac jus

Artisan Baker, Peter Cook of Price & Sons, Ludlow

Well what can we say, Taste of London 2010 was a great success. California Prunes took part in the event for the first time this year and is pleased to report that Londoners love prunes and bright blue skies!

Taste of London at Regent’s Park is London’s finest and largest pop-up restaurant festival. The event brings together the capital’s finest chefs and restaurants with an extraordinary range of quality food and drink from Britain and around the world.

If you weren’t lucky enough to experience this year’s festival for yourself, then be sure to keep 16th-19th June 2011 free when Taste of London will be back for its eight year. California Prunes hopes to be there too.

In the meantime take a look at some pics from this year’s festival…

This year was our second year of supporting the Breast Cancer Care Ribbon Walks, which aim to raise more than £1m for the charity. Last year we were amazed  by the amount of women who gave up their time to raise funds for the charity, and this year was equally as impressive. Come rain or shine the ladies were out in force to complete one of  four different walks  around the country. The last event took place this weekend (5th June) at Harewood House in Leeds.

As a partner of this fantastic event, we made sure that we were on hand to distribute California Prunes to those taking part in the event. After tackling the 10 or 20 mile route, there were a fair few hungry participants and spectators who were very happy to enjoy a sweet and juicy, yet fat free snack.

Congratulations to all those that took part.

Spring is in the air, which means that summer is just around the corner! The highlight of our summer calendar has to be Taste of London (17-20th June) and we are excited to announce that California Prunes will be taking part in this year’s event.

Taste of London at Regent’s Park is London’s finest and largest pop-up restaurant festival. Now in its seventh year, Taste of London brings together the capital’s finest chefs and restaurants with an extraordinary range of quality food and drink from Britain and around the world. Save the date, invite your friends and book your tickets to the foodie event of the summer. www.tastefestivals.com/london

We will be sampling our quality, tasty California Prunes in the Small Producer area of the festival, so please come by and see us. Only 48 days to go!

We are delighted to announce that we are once again, supporting the fundraising efforts of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) The charity offers a fantastic support network to new parents across the UK by providing parenting classes, regional groups and events for both parents and children, including the Cheeky Monkeys Tea Parties. Healthy eating is particularly pertinent for pregnant women, new parents and babies, and as California Prunes offer so many health benefits the relationship between the California Prune Board and NCT is an important one.

In 2009, NCT received more than 350 party registrations from all over the UK and raised over £30,000 for the NCT Early Days helpline. This year the focus of the appeal is to raise funds for the development of its Postnatal Line, a helpline to ensure that all new parents have easy access to information and support during the transition to parenthood. “The NCT are delighted to be working with California Prunes on what we are sure will be our most successful Cheeky Monkeys Tea Party campaign to date. With their support we are confident of hitting our target for the development of the NCT’s postnatal help line.” Allan Sutherland, Fundraising Operations Manager

NCT Cheeky Monkeys Tea Parties are held across the UK every year between May and September and provide a great opportunity for families and friends to get together and raise money to aid the vital work of the NCT. The parties are lots of fun and can include fancy dress raffles, sponsored toddles, arts and crafts, story-time, music sessions and games. As well as an opportunity to have a fun-filled afternoon, the events also raise money for the NCT so they can keep on providing support and information to all expectant and new parents through pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.

“The California Prune Board is very proud to support the National Childbirth Trust again this year. Its work to support new parents is vital and the Cheeky Monkey Tea Parties are a fantastic way to raise money for such a valuable cause. With healthy eating top of the agenda for pregnant women and new mothers our relationship is a worthy one and we look forward to sampling quality California Prunes with this year’s party-goers.” Esther Ritson-Elliott, California Prune Board, European Marketing Manager.

So far nearly 90 parties have been registered to take place this year and the attendees all have the opportunity to sample California Prunes as part of their afternoon tea. Parents and children of any age will enjoy the natural sweet taste of California Prunes and can benefit from their nutritional goodness at any time of day. Amanda Hamilton, Nutritionist, TV presenter and Founder of BabyToo BootCamp, says; “As a working mother of two young children, I know how busy life can get. When time is short it can be easy to snack on processed, high-fat treats, so stock your cupboards with healthy foods such as California Prunes. They’ll leave you feeling fuller for longer and are a great way of maintaining digestive health and boosting energy levels.”

The National Childbirth Trust is a registered charity, number 801395.

For more information about NCT please visit the website

As “Official Snackfood” of England Netball, California Prunes is very much aware of the hard work that goes on week in, week out, year in, year out by the volunteers who give up their time to support the game and its players. The Goalden Globes is the national award scheme that recognises their contribution  These awards are the pinnacle of the association’s recognition of voluntary effort and excellence. This year regional winners will be entered into a prize draw to win a spa day for 2 courtesy of our good selves, after all, hard work deserves a little pampering!

The award categories are…

Coach Award
Grassroots Coach Award
Inclusive Netball Volunteer Award
Mary Bulloch Administrator Award
Muriel McNally Award
Netball Teacher Award
Officials Award
Outstanding Netball Club Award
Rose Award
Young Netball Volunteer Award

Nominations are also sought for the England Netball Long Service Award.

The deadline for nominations has now been extended to 10am on Tuesday 6 April

For further details on the awards and nomination forms please visit the England Netball website here

If you are a Netball fan then why not tune into the Netball podcasts to find out all the latest news and gossip – check it out here

The California Prune Board would like to congratulate Sport Relief on raising a total of £31.6m with lots more to come in !! The money raised really will help to transform the lives of those in desperate need both across the UK and in the world’s poorest countries.

We were delighted to be involved in the weekends activities and Esther Ritson-Elliott, California Prune Board, European Marketing Manager had great fun taking part in the Sport Relief Mile in London on Sunday. California Prunes were sampled in the Sport Relief goody bags, which were given to 110,000 adults and 60,000 kids who participated – we hope they enjoyed their tasty, sweet snack!

Still to come we have the winners of the school competition which will be announced on 7th May. Schools and kids across the country are being invited to particpate in the fundraising efforts by entering a Sport Relief competition and California Prunes are providing the numerous prizes for the winners. The competitions are centered round the work of Sport Relief and explore how the money the charity raises can benefit children in the UK and across the globe. Children of all ages can take part and each winning class will receive activity or sports equipment for their school.

So far the response to the competitions has been terrific with over 500 class entries so far. Keep it up!

For more information on Sport Relief visit the website here to view pictures of the Sport Relief miles click here

California Prunes are a tasty, appetising and low-fat way to add a ray of sweet, juicy sunshine to your Easter lunch. Long recognised by chefs and cooks as a high quality, versatile ingredient, California Prunes are low in fat and make a great substitute for butter or oil when cooking. Blend some prunes with water to make a prune puree which adds moisture without adding calories.

Many of us enjoy sitting down to roast lamb at Easter, but why not try adding California Prunes for a delicious twist to a classic dish. The California Prune Board has developed the recipe for California Prune and Mint Stuffed Shoulder of Lamb – perfect for the occasion. Easter is also traditionally a time to indulge your sweet tooth and if you are looking for a sweet treat then why not try the Prune, Amaretti and Citrus Tart. You can tuck in guilt-free with this  pudding as it contains only 134 calories per slice.

As well as providing sweet, juicy flavour, California Prunes are a great little fruit as they’re naturally free from saturated fat and salt and contain potassium, copper and vitamin K. Just three California Prunes equates to one portion of the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables.

Prunes are a low GI fruit and are also high in fibre which can help to maintain a healthy digestive system and help to keep you feeling fuller for longer and less likely to reach for those Easter eggs!

For further recipe inspiration visit our recipe page which features a selection of recipes which show how versatile prunes are and how easy it is to cook with them at home.

California Prunes consistently produce the highest quality prunes in the world; this means that you can rest assured that only the best plums make their way from the orchard to your kitchen cupboard.