‘The Epic Thread’ Wins Gold at the Ciclope International Awards

Ciclope is an international festival of craft in moving images and took place last week in Berlin. The event focuses on the execution of the ideas and awards in categories around the making of film.

‘The Epic Thread’ has won gold in the 2D Animation Category for Mill+, a division of The Mill.

Voiced by British comedy legend – and a Fableist – Jennifer Saunders, ‘The Epic Thread’ is the story of a young girl’s quest to find out where, how and by whom her clothes were made after she finds a loose thread on her t-shirt. She follows the thread on an epic journey and meets the designers, the ships that transported the the clothes, the factory owner and the farmers – and makes a trusty friend along the way.

Congratulations to everyone involved!

Credits:
Creative Agency: Brothers and Sisters
Creatives: Jack Kerruish & Josh Pearce, Brothers and Sisters
Production Company: The Mill
Animation/Director: Kwok Fung Lam & Ivo Sousa, The Mill
Sound: Smith & Elms, Eclectic
Voice Over: Jennifer Saunders

‘The Epic Thread has earned The Mill a finalist spot in the 2D Animation category.

Recipe: Strawberry Cobbler

Wimbledon is around the corner, which means England must be at the height of strawberry season.

At this time of year, I find myself obsessed with fresh strawberries and use them in every dish possible. I have recently made this super easy strawberry cobbler on a few occasions – each time to rave reviews. So, I thought I’d share it with you. This recipe comes from my grandmother’s notes.

Cobbler can be a fruit or savoury filling, topped with biscuit or pie crust and baked. According to Wikipedia, cobblers originated in the North Eastern United States when English settlers were unable to make traditional suet-based puddings due to the lack of ingredients. They used a biscuit topping on their puddings instead.

This is dead easy and also delicious with other fruit, particularly blueberries and peaches.

Ingredients:

400 g (or so) of fresh strawberries

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp granulated white sugar

3/4 cup or 150g granulated white sugar

1 cup or 125 g self-raising flour

1 cup or 240 mL milk

Wash, hull and cut the strawberries in to thick slices. Toss them in the 3 tbsp of sugar. Grease an oven-proof dish (a square 9″ pyrex dish is ideal) and cover the bottom with the sugared strawberries. Dot the strawberries with small squares of the butter.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour and sugar well. Add the milk and mix until just combined.

Pour the mixture over the strawberries.

Bake at 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C for 45 to an hour, depending on your oven. The strawberries should be bubbling and the topping golden brown.

Enjoy straight out of the oven with custard, ice cream or cream. It is also nice once cooled but I prefer it warm and bubbling.