Will's Plum Crumble-Helen Alexander-Derby UK

The last time William visited us was in 2006 or maybe 2007. None of us can quite remember. In our garden we have a plum tree and sometimes it produces up to 90 lb of plum and sometimes nothing. In that year there was a good crop and so William and Alison helped us to gather in the harvest, cut and store the plums and then bag them for the freezer. 2009 was also a good year and as I write this the plums for 2010 are getting ready to be picked.
For a pie for 5/6, I used approx. 4.5 lobs of frozen plums (washed & stored & halved)
o Microwave or stew the plumes (NO WATER NEEDED) Also not sugar at this point.
o (The plum juice from the stewing can be strained off and then used with jelly (I'm English) JELLO to make a real fruity Jello.
o Add sugar to the plums to taste and put into over proof dish.
Top/Crumble
6 oz self raising flour
3 oz butter or margarine
3 oz (not sure here-you're own amount to taste) sugar (brown demerara makes it particularly crunchy).
Bake in oven about 180-200 degrees centrigrade for approx. 30-40 minutes or until top is golden and the plums bubbling.
Serve with ice cream, cream, custard, yoghurt, cremefraiche-basically whatever you like.
Helen, The Lilacs, Elvaston, England

Life's Changes

I have not posted in a while because I have a new project that began in June-moving. Preparing to move is a huge endeavor. Securing our next home. Cleaning out everything! Closets holding decades of memories of fantastic, fun and sad times. Kids school projects-preschool, elementary, middle and high school. Kids' rooms, our room, pictures of pool parties from yesteryear. Looking forward to the next chapter.
There is another change in my life, changing jobs. On that subject I will post more later this week. Janet

Will Dickens last August-Awesome

Today is Will's 17th birthday. Warm loving thoughts and memories of Will are coming to our family on this day. I visited Garden Close at St. Bede's this morning. Just at that time, the children from Trinity school were going to chapel. I stayed for the opening song being sung by the kids. So appropriate and beautiful, I was in the right place at the right time. His spirit lives on in those that he loved and loved him. Peace and love to you today and always. Janet Dixon-Dickens (Will's Mom)

Will Dickens’ Son, Brother, Teacher and Friend

Will had a natural talent for teaching. Being an assistant Sunday school teacher
for years at St. Bede’s gave Will the opportunity to share his gifts with the
children of the parish.

He excelled in math and science. His special need was in the area of reading
since first grade. He worked so hard and accomplished so much during his short
life.

A memorial fund has been established to honor Will's life through
Adopt-a-College http://adopt-a-college.org/. The purpose of program is to
support the education of community youth http://adopt-a-college.org/about2.html.
The scholarship will be awarded on May 20, 1 day before Will’s 17th birthday.

Will was also an accomplished athlete in water polo, soccer, tennis, basketball
and swimming. On June 7th, an award will be given to a Palo Alto Unified School
District (PAUSD) high school special needs student who shows enthusiasm for
aquatics and pursuing a university education.

Lastly, an annual award can be made, in memory of Will Dickens, to the Special
Olympics California Aquatic program, 3480 Buskirk Ave., Suite 340, Pleasant
Hill, CA 94523 or www.specialolympics.org.

To heal, our communities must focus on the natural gifts, strengths, talents and
interests that all kids have to offer. With this shift in focus and communities
connecting with youth, wonderful things will happen.

Mom's dinner and Clive's favorite-French Quarter Beignets

Last Thursday, the Mom's of children that have died, met for our May dinner. The dinner was a potluck and Mom's brought their child's favorite dish. Clive's Mom, Camilla, made French Quarter Beignets. Very tasty, here is the recipe:

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves: about 3 dozen

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 teaspoons slat
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups bread flour
1/4 cup shortening
Nonstick spray
Oil, for deep frying
3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions
Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture. In a separate bowl, measure our the bread flour. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to yo stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Add the confections' sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside.

Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color. After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towels, and then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly.

Will's Memorial at St. Bede's, Menlo Park

There are excellent messages contained in the words of Kitty L., Alex B. and Kitty D.http://bedesblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/will-dickens-in-memoriam/#more-1319 Thank you, Dear God, for Bede's Blog and the Bede's community.