27th December 2009

Dear All,



Hope you all enjoyed Christmas - just a few photos to illustrate the week:




Esther and Mary-Ann arrive



Christmas Eve walk by the river Cam


Elderly routinely humiliated on the WII - bring back Skinny!




Esther and Ben



Mary-Ann and Andy



Kate with Picture created by Mary-Ann

love

Mike & Kate

20th December 2009

20th December 2009.

Dear All,

Well how has it been for you? – ice, snow and power cuts – a proper winter week! We had about 4” snow on Thursday night, Friday morning and another flurry last night but three power cuts so far including 17 hours from Thursday 9 pm until Friday 2 pm. Tropical fish cooling, deep freeze warming and nothing working. It shows how dependent we are on electricity. It is fortunate that we have a log fire to brighten things up.

Overcote Road, Over

Over Fen

19 Willingham Road

On Monday I had my second session at the dentists to complete the crown fitting then a review session at U3A for the college gardens course. Our leader has all the contacts but has passed his “sell by date” as far as organisation is concerned so we are never quite sure what is happening next. We had a Mold-AG planning session in the evening. It has started snowing in Moldova 3 weeks earlier than usual and we have already been sent photos of 3 feet accumulation.
My computer has been going slower and slower so my “computer man” has updated the virus guard and cleaned all the files. I also doubled the memory, result: it is going slowly!
We had a Christmas lunch at NIAB on Wednesday which was well attended.
The Thursday walk was tough going, it was billed as 10 miles starting at Radwinter but the selected pub had closed so we moved to Hempstead. Instead of shortening the walk our esteemed leader added on 2.5 miles and with mud underfoot, snow showers and a biting wind it was not for the faint hearted.


Pure Enjoyment

It was “cut your own Christmas tree” time on Friday as a friend has a copse available at £1 per foot. Could be “Strangle your own turkey” next year!
We went carol singing round the frozen village last night and have a candle light service tonight.
May we wish a happy Christmas and prosperous new year to all our readers! Esther and Mary-Ann are expected Wednesday, Ben around that time, Andy and Eirwen sometime later.
Love

Mike & Kate

13th December 2009

13th December 2009.

Dear All,
Our College garden visit this week was to Homerton, which is just going through the process of being absorbed into Cambridge University, having previously been a teachers training college. It has a huge 26 acre site near the hospital and houses 700 students more than any other college. Having a large car park it is greatly favoured for out of term conferences and these have helped improve their bank balance. Once again the gardens were not spectacular but feature several sheltered courtyards, a conservation area with 3 species of orchids, an orchard and a 60 tree lime avenue.


Homerton Cavendish Building


Secluded Courtyard

Monday evening we had a pub meal out with 10 of the rambling group at The Old Crown in Girton. It was an excellent meal and good company.
Tuesday was work, a trip to the garage to have wheels balanced, tracking adjusted and 2 new tyres followed by groups in the evening. A third group started up this week which is encouraging.
I had to write a book review on Wednesday covering “Vegetable Seed Production” for Experimental Agriculture. I am sure most of you will have read it, if not I can recommend it for the dark evenings! I visited my old director, John MacLeod, again in hospital with prostate cancer. He went from walking to not being able to move in a week but remains very positive. Leaving Brookfields in Mill Road at 4 pm took me 1 hour 45 minutes to get home as Cambridge was gridlocked.
In the evening we entered a team in the Christians in Sport area quiz at St Neots. The quiz was run by ex Cambs Utd star? Graham Daniels and there was a full house of 17 teams of 8. I told our team not to try too hard but we had a sports genius on board (Chris Kean) so we won!


Winning Squad

Our walk on Thursday started at Braughing near Buntingford. It was billed as 8 miles but our leader was back from a 6 week cruise and decided we would be back too soon and added a couple of miles. It was sticky underfoot so quite hard going.


Cottage in Braughing

On Friday Kate and I went to Cambridge Christmas shopping which went quite well ending with lunch and my first trip to Morrisons at Cambourne.
Kate is currently at choir practice ready for the Christmas services – 2 weeks today and it will be all over - as Dad was wont to remark!

Love

Mike & Kate

6th December 2009

6th December 2009.

Dear All,

It has been an interesting week beginning with an hour in the dentists chair on Monday morning. I chipped a tooth and needed a cap so this was session one removal of old filling and drilling out to fit a plug. I was the second slot on Monday, and it would have been better if session one hadn’t been a difficult extraction, so I had to wait 30 minutes to see a grey faced lady stagger out holding her mouth! Roll on session two.
The college for this weeks U3A slot was Hughes Hall a post graduate establishment next to Fenners. As they had built on their entire garden we joined the morning “View the buildings” session. They have recently mortgaged their future by erecting a new building on Fenners boundary.


Hughes Hall Old Building


Hughes Hall Fenners Building

Deacons meeting Monday followed by work and Home Group Tuesday filled up the first part of the week.
Dave and Jen came up to Over on Wednesday to try and sort out our next trip to South America. It was slightly complicated as six plan to go to Ecuador and 3 of us want to stay on for a holiday while the rest want to return home after 3 weeks work. We agreed on an Ecuador holiday and went to the Travel Agents to book flights around the chosen timetable. Unfortunately the holiday had been cancelled the previous day and so had several alternatives that we tried (either cancelled or not guaranteed to run). Eventually we tried a new tack and picked another company and another country and booked 2 weeks in Costa Rica on the way back. On impulse I rang Kate at work and gave her 30 seconds to decide whether she would like to join us in Costa Rica (she is not going to Ecuador) and she bravely said “yes”. The departure date is 15th February and I am hoping that my deferred jury duty does not over run as that should finish on the 5th.
I led the short walk this week which was 7 miles round Willingham Fen. Kate had the day off and joined us – unfortunately it was one of the very few wet walks we have “enjoyed” and Willingham Fen on a wet December day is an acquired taste!
On Friday I had a difficult session with CEEM Board members as the other two were at loggerheads so I had to referee which I did not enjoy too much. It did not go too badly but of course there is plenty of opportunity to revisit problem areas.
Our new garden shed was delivered this week (10 x 8ft) so it has been an exciting exercise erecting shelves, inserting hooks and restocking the shed (you are easily pleased past 60!)


New Shed


Timely Matt cartoon!

Love

Mike & Kate