26th May 2013

26^th May 2013.

Dear All,

This week’s cricketing injury was a pulled groin muscle – perhaps someone is trying to tell me something? It was a mixed day having to prepare the home pitch for the 1^st team early in the morning as it had been too wet on Friday. We were working against the clock as a football match was due to start and guess what? - both the roller and the mower broke down.

We were playing away in Chippenham Park, near Newmarket. The sun shone, the surroundings were idyllic and we were thrashed! I did score a few but pulled the muscle taking the first single and the boundaries were huge so nearly everything had to be run.

Kate and I went to the Chelsea Flower Show on Tuesday courtesy of free tickets – entrance fee on Tuesday would have been £65. We sat next to some Australians at lunchtime who had just paid £15 each for a glass of champagne. The conditions were ideal- dry but cool but it is still a challenge to see all the show. It does not change greatly from year to year but you have to admire the quality of the stands even if the show gardens should perhaps be labelled “showing off gardens!” The “driftwood horse” below could be yours for £25,000!

Chelsea

We lead the walk on Thursday that we had recced the week before starting from Waresley. It was much cooler and windier this week with a small shower. The bluebells were still showing up well.

The Duncombe Arms, Waresley

Ben completed the Copenhagen marathon in 3 hours 27 minutes which sounds pretty good to me.

Esther called in after attending a conference on Thursday.

Sorry to hear about Dave and Jens latest break in – have you tried the “Bobby Scheme?”

Love

Mike & Kate

19^th May 2013.

Dear All,

They say “There is no fool like an old fool” and I largely proved that yesterday by turning out for the cricket team as they were short. So short, that I was called on to bowl 6 overs and managed 25 runs as we failed narrowly to chase down 196 by just 9 runs. The painful part was foolishly diving to stop a ball and landing on my shoulder so that I cannot raise my left arm above waist level today!

We are leading the walk next week so Kate and I did a recce on Tuesday starting at Waresley, taking in large fields of free range chickens and bluebell woods on the way to Great and Little Gransden.

 Free Range Chickens

                             Bluebells in Waresley Woods

 The bluebells were belatedly at their peak as were the azelias and rhododendrons at Wisley on Thursday when I attended a radish assessment trial of 49 varieties. The M25 was it’s usual self so that we tool 3.5 hours to complete the 2 hour journey.

Wisley

Wisley Rhododendrons

Radish Trial

We celebrated 42 years of marital bliss on Wednesday with a lunchtime meal at the Golden Ball, Boxworth.

John Law finally collected the tomato plants we have been growing for Moggerhanger on Wednesday evening. It was a relief to wave them goodbye as the cold spring made their welfare precarious in a normally unheated greenhouse.

Moggerhanger tomatoes  

                                                    Wisteria

I spoke at a Garden Club at Needingworth on Tuesday and there were over 80 present – you never know what to expect. Some clubs are laid back and informal others are run like a Whitehall committee meeting with apologies, minutes, plans for the show and next outing etc.

Plenty of gardening this week as things are starting to move – but I expect those who garden know that and those who don’t, don’t care!

Ben is running in the Copenhagen marathon today.

Love

Mike & Kate

12th May 2013

12^th May 2013.

Dear All,

It has been a week of catching up in the garden and writing reports on our recent visit to Moldova.  In between I have attended the ENT clinic at Addenbrookes and had my ear vacuumed – an interesting experience but it seems to be healing OK.

As my appointment was on Wednesday, Kate travelled down to Godalming on the train for her tour of child minding duty. But we had a day with Amélie on Friday, as Esther is looking after her this weekend as Mary-Ann and Andy are at a Festival. Esther had to work on Friday so we were called in for child minding and gardening therapy!

  

Grandparent Duties

It was back to walking on Thursday after an enforced break for me. We started at Sutton near Potton and took in Biggleswade, Sandy and Potton on the way. We were only caught by one shower but it was windy and about 20°C cooler than Moldova.

  

Sandy Woods

As usual they broke the cricket mower while I was away so preparing the wicket has been more fraught than usual. In the end the match was rained off quite soon after it began yesterday.

Yesterday was Kate Foster’s 60^th birthday and her eldest brother Jonathan gave a lunch in her honour. Jonathan holds a senior position at Marshalls Airport and lives in a substantial converted barn at Teversham.

  Kate at 60 

  

                                                                  Jonathan’s Barn

Love

Mike & Kate

5th May 2013

5^th May 2013.

Dear All,

Well we survived another spell in Moldova with the usual packed itinery and mixed results. I hope to write a report this week so will not spell out too much here. The weather was very hot again over 30°C most days with one spectacular thunderstorm. Our routine projects with the Agriculture, Meal Deal and Water all seem to be going well. The projects that we invested some legacy money in last year all have problems. Politically the country is in chaos with the fragile anti communist coalition wobbling as the PM resigned and the Speaker was dismissed. There is a constant tug o’ war between those looking to the west and those preferring Russia.

Familiar transport

Financially most are struggling epitomised by one Burlacu family with 7 children. The eldest 2 are bright enough to go to University but this takes money so the father accepted a 2 year contract lorry driving in Russia. Meanwhile the mother, Sveta got a visa to visit relatives in the USA and while there found a 6 month job leaving the eldest daughter back home to look after the rest of the family.

The Meal Deal is currently feeding 20 children with a waiting list of 40. Some kids are so poor that they take dried bread home in their pockets for their evening meal.

 Meal Deal kids   

 Star Grower

The Training Day went well with 41 attending. The violent storm took place late on Sunday evening when we were taking the Youth Service. The aftermath were completely flooded streets which we had to negotiate in pitch darkness (no street lights) with hidden potholes knee deep in water.

    Local Characters

We visited several places that we had not been before including the Duckers new village (they sent regards to Mary & Graham). They are close to a couple of our pastors who need a bit of encouragement so hopefully they will be able to work together somehow. We visited the school, the medical centre and the mayor as well as the new water project and watched the village football match where we witnessed the slightly unusual event of the referee pacing out 10 yards for a free kick then waving the wall closer as they were standing more than 10 yards away!

Leova continues to look like a ghost town as the population has shrunk dramatically from about 20,000 to 7,000.

In Chisinau we attended a 2.5 hour pre Easter (orthodox calendar) service of 2.5 hours in Moldovan so did not understand a word! And with time to kill before out flight visited the Botanic Gardens and the gigantic underground wine store at Milestii Mici. It has 200 km of tunnels cut out of soft limestone to rebuild Chisinau after the war. 50 km are lined with barrels and bottles of wine but we had a plane to catch!

  

Serious consultations

Burlacu at its Best

Milestii Mici

I will put some photos in “Dropbox”

Love

Mike & Kate