It was all about the icing on the cake for around 40 members and visitors at the October meeting of West Buckland WI.

Expert cake decorator Ann Pickard demonstrated how to easily turn a plain cake into a stunning centre piece with the use of fondant icing and simple tools, found in most home kitchens.

She began by making novelty sugarcraft models using her unique guide to sizes and proportions. Members were fascinated to see small balls of sugar paste quickly turned into amazing novelty models including ducks, birds, snowmen, Christmas trees and pumpkins.

Then the creativity and art of sugarcraft really took shape as Ann put all the elements together to transform simple cakes into a duck pond, a Christmas scene, a yule log, an iceberg complete with penguins and spooky Halloween cup cakes.

Ann explained that she has been decorating cakes for over 20 years and runs the Icing Centre in Weston-super-Mare. She is also an author of many sugarcraft books, perfect for all abilities including beginners and children.

She explained that sugarcraft was an easy hobby, it was accessible and everyone can do it. It does not require specialist tools and ingredients can be bought from all major supermarkets.

Her skills and dexterity were astounding, as she decorated four large cakes and four cup cakes in less than an hour, at the same time explaining each technique and passing on many tips.

West Buckland WI president Christine Wombwell thanked Ann for her inspiring talk and demonstrations. It was a masterclass that made cake decorating easy.

Decorated cakes were then raffled.

President Christine continued the evening with an update on WI business. She reported that practice sessions for the WI skittles team would take place at the White Horse Inn Bradford on Tone over the next few weeks. She encouraged anyone interested to come along and have a go.

The WI will run the tombola stall at the upcoming West Buckland autumn fair, at the village hall on 29 November, and a request was made for donations of gifts and prizes for the stall.

Good wishes were sent to members absent due to health matters.

Secretary Cheryl Bailey reminded members that tickets were still available for the Somerset Federation of WIs annual carol concert, which takes place at Wells Cathedral on December 10.

Treasurer Carole Smith provided a financial update and said that tickets were now on sale for a WI Flower Arranging Demonstration by floral expert Angie Blackwell, at the village hall on Wednesday, November 19, between 2pm and 4.30pm. The event is being organised by the WI but is also open to non-members.

The meeting closed with tea and biscuits.

West Buckland WI meets at 7.30pm on the second Tuesday of each month at the village hall, and new members are always welcome. The next meeting is on Tuesday, November 11, when former registrars Deb and Jackie from Just Ceremonies will provide insight into their work and the role of the celebrant.

If anyone would like to visit or join West Buckland WI, contact Christine Wombwell on 01823 652863 or 07736712273.

Gardeners are in the habit of buying vegetable seeds on an annual basis, sowing them and harvesting the result, and then repeating that the following year.

Our October meeting talk, however, offered members something different to think about - perennial vegetables, which once planted will provide food over at least a three years period. Our speaker Mandy, with her partner Julien, manage Incredible Vegetables, an experimental vegetable growing project, research space and nursery dedicated to perennial edibles, based on two sites at Ashburton on the outskirts of Dartmoor.

Perennial vegetables are rarely available as seeds from the standard seed catalogues, so Mandy and Julien’s work is an important contributor to future food crops and helps to safeguard and enrich soil ecosystems as they function as part of a no-dig approach.

Mandy’s truly interesting and well-illustrated talk covered examples of leafy greens/brassicas, legumes, alliums, salad leaves, and roots and tubers. Mandy brought examples of many of these perennial vegetables, which members eagerly purchased following the talk.

A leafy green of local interest is Taunton Deane kale, an old variety of very hardy kale, that is easily propagated by side shoots which will root within four weeks, and provide new growth in the spring and summer. Other kales included Daubenton and Purple Tree Collard. Also discussed were Good King Henry - also known as Lincolnshire spinach, wild spinach, or poor-man’s asparagus – which has long roots making it drought tolerant; Sea Beet, a substitute for chard and spinach; and Korean Celery which flowers on tall stems and is attractive to pollinators.

The Hopniss or American groundnut forms long rhizomes with edible tuberous swellings that look like strings of beads, and can be used as a potato substitute. Mandy grows these in large tubs rather than open ground, with canes to support the vines. Another tuberous perennial is skirret, a sweet parsnip which grows clusters of crunchy roots and was popular in Stuart and Tudor times.

A number of alliums are perennial, for example Welsh onions, French leeks and Babington (English perennial leeks). The stems of these are cut off above ground level for culinary use, and then regrow. Welsh onion bulbs are lifted and split every few years, while the leeks are left uncut to flower and produce a head of bubils which are collected for new plants. Egyptian walking onions spread and propagate by producing miniature “onions” at the end of long, green stalks that are called “topsets” or “bulblets. When the topsets grow too heavy, the hollow green stalks collapse to the ground, the bulblets take root and establish themselves as new individual plants.

Mandy also mentioned some perennial salad leaves, all of which are best grown in containers. Examples were sculpit, an aromatic plant used throughout Italy similar to rocket or chicory; garlic cress; mashua, an alternative to nasturtiums; and wild rocket, which is more peppery than annual rocket.

The meeting was followed by our AGM. The SAGC committee now consists of seven members; Sue Andrew, secretary Sue Matthews 1, Sue Matthews 2, Kathy McNichol, Jane Neenan, treasurer Nick Matthews, and chair Ian Stock.

Our next meeting is on Thursday, November 13, at 7.30pm in Sampford Arundel Parish Room, when the topic of Houseplants will be covered by Rob from Hutch Houseplants. Members and non-members are welcome, with further details from Sue or Nick on 01823 672662.

A Pudding Party was held on Friday at Dukes Court, Bulford to raise money for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

Residents brought along their own sandwiches and then paid £5 for a choice of apple pie, lemon tart, raspberry cheesecake, sherry trifle or strawberry pavlova, served with custard and/or cream and followed by tea or coffee.

There was enough for seconds and even thirds in at least one case! Including donations £113 was raised for the charity.