Letter 15th December 2008

15th December 2008.

Dear All,

No letter yesterday as we were at the christening of Kate’s sister’s first grandchild Emma Louise Digeorgio at Terling near Chelmsford. Mandy and Natasha came down to stay the weekend from Derbyshire. Esther, Mary-Ann and Ben all dutifully turned up as well so it was a sort of “Smithside” pre Christmas get together.

Natasha, Emma & Esther

The service itself was not a great advert for Christianity, conducted by a nervous Anglican vicar who read from various books from different places in the church. His normal congregation is 12 and there was food in the United Reform church opposite – normal congregation 10. We went back to Esther’s afterwards to collect presents for Derbyshire and to monitor the house training of her new feline pets.
Monday we covered gold mining in Geodyssey as our lecturer spent many years as geologist at gold mines in Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Tuesday at work we were reporting on our “Low Input and Sustainable” trials. This has replaced organics in things DEFRA is prepared to fund and is aimed at developing a trials system that would identify varieties that would do well under less intensive farming methods i.e. lower inputs of particularly nitrogen fertilizer but also less pesticide, fungicide and herbicide.
On Wednesday I wrote up a report on the visits we made in Cuba (available on request!). Our ramble on Thursday was further south than usual starting at Arkesden and progressing via Wicken Bonhunt, Rickling and Hill Green. The route was more hilly than Cambridge folk are used to and very sticky underfoot.


17th century chapel at Wicken

On Friday I attended a seminar on “Tropical Legumes” at work delivered by a visiting Indian at 2 million words per minute in an indistinct accent. This was followed by the NIAB Christmas lunch which was “in house” and prepared very well.
Saturday was cold and wet, Kate took Mandy and Natasha to “Jack and the Beanstalk” in Cambridge while I fetched the Christmas tree, delivered our allocation of the Over churches Christmas card, wrote next months Gardening Column and made a few cards for work.

Love

Mike & Kate