Dear All,
So – how is your build up to Christmas? December always seems to need a brake applied somewhere to slow it down. This week routine tasks have been augmented with pre Christmas activities like card writing, shopping, wrapping and posting.
On Monday I went to the Whipple Science Museum which houses many teaching aides and early models of scientific breakthroughs such as Newton’s wooden telescope, Burbage’s first computer (or difference machine) and the first electronic microscope. There are also several biological exhibits including glass models of the important crop fungal pathogens.
Whipple museum Globes
Grand Orrery
NIAB on Tuesday – I have finally handed in my notice for March and received my State Pension application forms – what does it feel like to have a younger brother/father of pensionable age? NIAB developments advance at a pace with the squash court being demolished this week. In the evening class we studied “Astronomy in Cambridge” including Newton and the early observatories set up by the University.
On Wednesday the “Digital Age” was on the big players in the web and internet age and likely future developments – stand by for actual buildings on your SatNav, building plans for street level programmes and the sensory web.
I have visited a couple of ex NIAB folk this week, Bill Chowings and Brian Tyrell. Bill had a Spanish lorry back into him as he sat at the wheel and Brian had a fire after his freezer overheated.
I did the short walk on Thursday testing out my joints but actually it turned out to take longer than the normal walk as the leader missed the way. We started at Cowlinge some way south of Newmarket and took in Wickhambrook and Kirtling. It was cold but interesting and the ground was hard rather than muddy which helps
Walk near WickhambrookI had my last garden club of the year at Girton and a couple of the Ramblers came along to barrack! This was my 15th talk of the year and it would have been 20 if I hadn’t cancelled 5 while in Ecuador and Costa Rica.
On Friday Kate and I were invited to dinner with Roger and Erica Salmon from Rambling. If you had asked me I would have said that he was the most difficult man in the group to talk to so it was a bit of a surprise. It actually went better than anticipated, he had worked for Rothschild’s and been bursar of Kings College and at one stage involved with the privatisation of the railways, and she is German and worked in education and industrial psychology. They have visited Ecuador and actually stayed in The Black Sheep Hut where David, Jen and us stayed on our first visit.
Yesterday it thawed enough to lay some Mypex and plant strawberries on our new fruit cage site – as it has now frozen solid I hope it was a wise decision. In the afternoon we went to St Ives as Kate wanted some Christmas fare from Waitrose. The chapel on the bridge was open for the first time when we have been passing so we had a look round that as well.
St Ives Chapel on the Bridge
Kate had managed to sell Ben’s old exercise gym to someone from her work and they came to collect it in the morning – I had more exercise than I needed carrying it down the stairs, perhaps we should have reduced it to smaller parts?
In the evening we attended Over Pantomime “Aladdin” this year. It was written by one of my ex vet football companions and very good.
love
Mike & Kate
No comments:
Post a Comment