26th October 2008

26th October 2008.

Dear All,

Historic week as I used my bus pass for the first time; how does it feel to have a younger brother with a bus pass? As it happened I could hardly walk with gout so took the “Park & Ride” into Cambridge for my “Geodyssey” class. This week it was the moon and meteorites – do you know that the largest meteorite to hit earth was over 50 tons, 3m x 3m x 1m flattened cube of solid iron and landed in Namibia?
On Monday evening I did another Garden Club this time at West Wickham inland from Horseheath. It was unusual in that it was in the middle of nowhere and there were no street lights so the venue took a bit of finding, in addition there were about 30 there but only 2 men.
On Wednesday I was at Wisley planning RHS vegetable trials for next year. It was a beautiful day with spectacular autumn colours on view which made up for the M25 which was constipated in both directions (can you be constipated in both directions?)


Quercus rubra at Wisley


My ankle was fit enough for the Thursday ramble; this one started in Furneux Pelham and was 9 miles via Hare Street and back again. There was a record turn out of 35 and we managed to lose one chap who turned up after everyone else had finished lunch.
On Friday I was just brushing my teeth at 9.30 am prior to a trip to the dentist when I had a phone call from NIAB. The next lorry for Moldova had arrived 24 hours early with 2 Rumanian, non English speaking drivers – would I go and sort it out! It was sorted as they needed to sleep for a statutory period before the return trip. Loading was not too bad on Saturday but we had to be very careful not to exceed the Shipping List by weight or articles, as we did last time under threat of fines or blacklisting. This load is mainly school items – desks, chairs, projectors, tables plus clothes.
Over beat Histon A 3 v 2 in the pm but were a tad fortunate.
Kate has been working very hard as usual having to go in on Saturday and Sunday to attend to her cells. We have been entertaining this lunchtime: Margery Johnson, David and Rebecca Smith plus children.


Wisley apple display

Love

Mike & Kate

19th October 2008.

Dear All,

This week I started my U3A courses designed to stretch mind and body! Monday was “Geoddysey” which covers how the solar system developed and the characteristics of the stars and planets. It was a bit high powered and made my brain hurt in places, but nonetheless very interesting, especially as it was liberally illustrated by pictures from the Hubble space telescope.
Thursday I joined the ramblers at Sutton near Biggleswade for an 8.25 mile walk from Sutton via Biggleswade, Sandy and Potton. The best part of the walk was through the RSPB headquarters at Sandy Warren, where numerous trees are rapidly adopting autumn colours. The group were very friendly but again high powered as in: “I lectured in Physiology” or “I research in stem cells” or “My daughter-in-law writes for the Guardian (Jess Cartner-Morley)” but very friendly. The distance was no problem but the pace was reminiscent of Graham Brown on a bad day so no slouching!


Sutton

I did another Garden Club talk this week at Coton: “Salads AYR” they were very friendly but it never ceases to amaze me how different various clubs are. Some are so formal you would think it was a City board meeting (minutes, apologies, outings, competitions), others so laid back that they could be in the Caribbean (this is Mr Day – he will introduce himself!)
My friend John Lane who was biking across USA finished Friday in 48 days – he had allowed 64 so obviously made excellent progress. He kept a daily blog which makes entertaining reading. His average was 70 miles per day and the whole journey was 2,820 miles. You can check it out on: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/cyclelane
Getting stuck into the winter digging and pruning in the garden and have planted winter lettuce, more onion sets and sown broad beans. We had home grown potatoes, leeks, sprouts, parsnips, squash, blackberries and raspberries today for lunch. The muntjac will be added as soon as I get a good recipe as he stripped a whole row of lettuce this week!


Onion Squash

Watched Over lose away at Hardwick yesterday but it was a pleasant afternoon – and football has never been just about wining – ask Ipswich, Southampton, Derby, Spurs, Colchester, Norwich (need I go on?)

Love

Mike & Kate

Letter 12th October 2008

12th October 2008.

Dear All,

We enjoyed a good week in Cornwall and as reported in the postcards the weather was much better than forecast. We stayed in a very smart house at Gorran Haven for which Gordon managed to get a 25% late booking discount. It had a magnificent view of the harbour of which it would take some time to tire.

View from House


Every route into Gorran Haven involves 5 or 6 miles of narrow lanes and often through Mevagissey which was a constant bottleneck – but all part of the holiday. We arrived in rain having reached Dartmoor in record time then taken “the pretty way”. On Sunday we went to Gorran Haven Baptist Church for their harvest thanksgiving (2 squash and 5 packets of cheese!). We met a couple from Suffolk whose niece comes to our church – small world, at least amongst closet Baptists!
Sunday pm was sunny and bright so we did a 6 mile coast walk towards Mevagissey with excellent views. Bob and Carol’s windscreen wipers broke on the way down so Monday we sought out the nearest Vauxhall agency which proved to be in Truro. As it was a dull day we went to Falmouth taking in Pendennis Castle and the Maritime Museum via Mylor. The museum was good value with collections of boats and all things nautical through the ages and an under sea level basement with glass panels so that you could view seas life like a real time aquarium.
Tuesday was the Eden Project and I was mightily impressed, so many people had said “you will enjoy Heligan more than Eden” that I did not have high expectations. In fact I thought it was excellent with so many hidden twists and extras.



You might have seen this before!


Wednesday was wall to wall sunshine and we headed to St Ives as some of the group wanted to visit the Tate Modern. Kate and I explored the town and it was looking its very best as befits a town that attracts artists because of the quality of the light. The reports on the Tate were not very complimentary but it did open the discussion on art that it was meant to provoke. On the way back we explored the Roseland Peninsula as this is where Kate’s paternal grandfather was born. We found the house, which is at Froe and very grand on the bend of a river. It was being renovated and the builders let us walk round and photograph from all angles.
Thursday we went to Heligan and found the lost gardens. It is splendid and on a Thursday in October far from crowded. It was so good to see a decent vegetable garden at a posh garden! We only spent the morning there as Bob and carol had visited recently and did not accompany us. In the afternoon we did another coastal walk near Veryan to Nare Head – again in sunshine.
Friday was “chill out” morning then to explore Mevagissey and Fowey followed by a meal at the local pub called the “Llawnroc Inn” (think about it)
We left about 9 am Saturday and made a couple of stops. The first was at St Neot near Liskeard on the edge of Bodmin Moor. A new lawn game is sweeping the nation called “Smite”, it is a form of skittles which are struck with a log and then they are stood where they fall. You can score either by counting the number of skittles felled or the score on a single one. I am told it is better after a drink or two. Anyway it is distributed from a farm at St Neot and we called in to this idyllic spot to collect a few that had been ordered from work. We also called in on Jonny Whitfield who grew up opposite in Over and now lives near Sidmouth. We arrived home at 6ish in time for the second half of the England match.


St Ives at it’s best

Love


Mike & Kate