28th December 2014.

Dear All,

Pictures only today. We hope you have all enjoyed Christmas.

Swavesey Pits Christmas Eve

Olympic Puddle Jumpimg

Santa called

Vegetarian Christmas Pies

Serious Present Opening

 Result of Several Year’s hard graft

 Scary Dinosaur Outfit

Gingerbread House

Championship Frog Hopping

Love

Mike & Kate

21st December 2014.

Dear All,

Seasons Greetings on the shortest day – from today the days are getting longer!

We had the electrician in on Monday to connect up the wiring that I had laid in trenches for both greenhouses as well as fix a fancy new fixture for the hall.

Kate had gone to Addenbrooks to visit our 98 year old neighbour, Hilda, who had a fall the previous week. She greeted Kate with “have you come to take me home?” “No – I have come on the bus”, “What’s the matter with you – have you forgotten how to drive” From which exchange you can see she has not lost her sharpness! She had demanded to come home after the first day in hospital only to be told that she needed a blood transfusion – “Oh well, my cleaner can do that!” She came home last night so it remains to be seen how that settles down.

We were down at Hove again this week and on Wednesday visited two couples we know at Middleton-on-Sea; David and Cathy Whalley and Derek and Marian Betts.

David was a contemporary at Nottingham University and is now suffering from dementia. We met Derek and Marian on the Turkey holiday and got on well with them.

Amélie was in good form and heavily into glitter at present. We are still finding sparkly additions to our clothing.

It was the U3A walking group Christmas stroll and meal on Thursday. We started at Barrington, a place with a spectacular Village green and walked to Foxton for mulled wine and mince pies at our leader Philip’s house, then back to Barrington for a Christmas meal for about 54.

The Royal Oak, Barrington

Merry Seasonal Mud

Barrington Village Green

Yesterday was the Christmas Messy Church, the numbers were quite good and a few of the children fairly excited. Clearing up seemed to take for ever.

Our lodger moved out for Christmas yesterday, she is going to London to stay with her brother then taking over the Manse for week while they are away.

We are expecting Mary-Ann, Andy, Amélie and Ben on Tuesday and Esther either then or Wednesday.

I hope to collect Brussels sprouts from Biggleswade tomorrow – that’s when Christmas really kicks in!

We hope Mary's pain is bearable and are not surprised that she is both being stoical and turned down the operation.

Love

Mike & Kate

14th December 2014

14th December 2014.

Dear All,

This has been the last week of the U3A term so relief all round! The “Just Vegetating” session was a brand new topic of “Culinary Herbs” – so even I had to listen. Kate livened up her recipe section by smuggling a bottle of absinthe into the Friends Meeting House! – Strictly in the interests of illustrating the use of herbs in drinks. This year’s class have been excellent and besides signing a flattering card presented us both with books about “Arthur Young” and a bouquet for Kate.

“Just Vegetating” class of 2014

We had a brief flurry of snow on Thursday as we set out for the walk but fortunately the day improved and the sun even made an appearance. We were leading the walk we had reccied last week from Perry at Grafham Water.

Puzzling over the Mystery Objects

Grafham Water deliberately low for bank repairs

In the evening we attended the Over Players Pantomime “Pinocchio”. There were some strong performances but several of the regulars were missing. “More like a musical than a Pantomime” was music critic Kate Day’s verdict.

I have been digging a trench to get electricity laid on to our greenhouses but have to get an electrician to connect the wiring as there are so many rules about such things these days.

Hilda next door had a fall on Wednesday and is currently in Addenbrooks with a cracked hip.

We have mailed cards and presents this week and collected a tree from the Fenwick’s – still only £10 for 7 ft!

Over drew 2v2 with a powerful Lakenheath outfit yesterday in an action packed evenly matched game.

John Bell rang last night to discuss the pictures we sent with their card – he doesn’t like to leave anything to chance!

Love

Mike & Kate

7th December 2014

7th December 2014.

Dear All,

Yesterday Kate and I attended the “Winter Festival” at Mill Road, Cambridge at the invitation of David and Angela Miles-Dinham who live in the next street. David is leader of the U3A “Biographies” group and Angela attends “Just Vegetating”.  Mill Road is as near as we get to a diverse ethnic area in Cambridge, even if it does not come anywhere near to Streatham or North Harrow! The street was closed off for a parade and there were dozens of food offerings from around the planet together with choirs singing and Morris dancing. My main interest was to record the foreign vegetable displays in the various greengrocers – a mini Chinatown.

This was a bit late for “Just Vegetating” which this week covered “Oriental Vegetables” but I expect it will come in.

Mill Road

The U3A film this week was “A Journey to Italy” starring Ingrid Bergman and directed by Rosselini. It is claimed to be a classic of its time – but a bit slow moving. In the evening our home group had a meal out at “The Golden Ball”, Boxworth. John Lee was asking me all about my sister – I think you scored a hit Mary!

We made our initial attempt at Christmas shopping on Wednesday – a slightly over rated pastime but not too bad if you concentrate on the children.

On Thursday we reccied a walk from Perry on Graffham Water – not round the reservoir but inland. It was rather muddy but not too bad.

Mystery Construction on the Walk

On Friday it was my turn to present at “Biographies”. I chose “Daniel Defoe” and as usual you start off thinking “how can I fill the time” and end up trying to cram it all in as there was much more to DD than writing Robinson Crusoe.

•      Trader, Manufacturer, Rebel, Satirist, Poet, Journalist, Pamphleteer and Spy

•      Famous for: Robinson Crusoe, first novelist? Father of modern journalism?

•      Imprisoned x3, In Pillory

•      Wrote more than 500 books, pamphlets & journals

•      Used at least 198 Pen Names

He only turned to writing novels when he was nearly 60 and they were all written in a 6 year period. Ask me more when you see me as I could bore you for several minutes.

  

Daniel Defoe & the Pillory

My children will remember Brian Tyrell – he phoned on Friday having been in hospital for 8 weeks. He had a Pseudomonas infection on his knee and almost lost a leg.

Love

Mike & Kate

30th November 2014

30th November 2014.

Dear All,

Advent Carol Service at St Mary’s today – so I guess Christmas must be coming! As pensioners we have been far too busy to begin shopping, planning etc. yet but it has to be faced shortly.

On Monday I was invited to Bishops Stortford U3A to address their “Plants & Gardening” course then in the evening we had a meal out at the Old Fire Engine House at Ely with some of the Rambling Group. It is an excellent restaurant near the Cathedral – but not the cheapest.

This week’s “Just Vegetating” was on “Minor Crops” and being U3A there was discussion as to whether the term “Minor” was derogative!. The U3A film was “Gold Diggers of 33” starring Ginger Rogers.

I went to the funeral of a wife of a former NIAB colleague on Wednesday. It was conducted by a lady vicar who closely resembled Thora Hird and was a former barmaid.

Our Thursday walk began at Therfield above Royston and included the highest point in Cambridgeshire at a massive 146m. Kate has been suffering from a pulled groin muscle so sat this one out.

Therfield

On Friday we met up with Esther for a meeting with her financial advisor in Ongar then did a little gardening before travelling on to Upminster to call on John and Muriel. They seemed quite well but not venturing very far these days!

I cut the grass yesterday, hopefully for the last time this year – but there is no guarantee!

News from Moldova is that they have virtually finished their new church in Burlacu with help from Holland and Germany.

Love

Mike & Kate

23rd November 2014

23rd November 2014.

Dear All,

Well the dentist did not go according to plan. She looked at the offending tooth again and thought there might not be enough left to cap, so it is a matter of waiting to see whether the nerve dies and the temporary filling holds. It was all a bit of an anticlimax as you tend to get psyched up to visit a dentist.

Tuesday was again busy as we had “Potatoes” in “Just Vegetating” then I had to address the Women’s Meeting on “Turkey – Ancient & Modern” while Kate caught the train to Hove. In the evening we had a landmark Church Meeting altering the rules on communion.

On Wednesday I had a swim and sorted and catalogue the current batch of seed from Suttons for Moldova.

Kate stayed over in Hove so that she could return in daylight stopping off in London  visiting St Pancras church, Camley Park and the new “Institute of Sexology” exhibit at the Wellcome Collection.

On Thursday I had the final visit of the season to Wisley to judge Swedes grown in Devon, a last sowing of carrots and plan next year’s trials. RHS meetings are much more difficult these days as they are trying to reduce both the number of trials and the size of judging panels – neither of which is popular with the committee.

I travelled down with Tony Hewitt who lives near Spalding. We managed excellent time down to Wisley in 1.75 hours but took exactly twice as long coming back mostly due to an hour queue on the M11 due to an accident. Tony had a 15 hour day.

I had a new experience on Friday when the guided bus I was on tried to overtake another which was parked at Longstanton and managed to shatter it’s back window while removing our bus’s wing mirror. Neither bus was then operational and as they were both full the passengers over whelmed the next three buses.

I more or less finished winter digging yesterday and planted out winter lettuce before attending Over 2 v 0 Cottenham in a feisty local derby.

Today we are celebrating David & Rebecca’s 10^th anniversary – time flies as ever!

Love

Mike & Kate

16 November 2014

16th November 2014.

Dear All,

On Monday I started a three session repair and capping of a broken tooth which will cost more than I earn in 12 months of Garden Club talks – clearly in the wrong business.

Tuesday was a longish day as we had “Just Vegetating” in the morning, this week was “Legumes”. This was followed by a U3A viewing of “Oh What a Lovely War” then an evening Garden Club at Shelford and a drive down to Hove. This proved to be a troublesome exercise as the A23 was closed for road works and the diversion took in Horsham and Worthing. An accident lengthened this further so we arrived about 12.15am – an hour longer than normal.

On Wednesday we took the bus to Preston Park, Brighton which apart from being a pleasant open space with an allotment, sports pitches and play park also claims to have the oldest rockery in the country. (I did not take my camera so these pics are from the web)

Preston Park

We then visited “Booths Natural History Museum”. This is a huge collection of stuffed birds, animals and skeletons by a Victorian who showed his passion for wild life by slaughtering a large percentage of it before having it stuffed and mounted! Exhibits included a Dodo skeleton. Having no descendants Mr Booth gave the collection to the city and it is free admission.

  

Booth Natural History Museum

Amélie said “I’ve been here before” which we dismissed rather lightly – but it turned out she had already visited with M-A and Andy and was keen to demonstrate her expertise with a projecting microscope to another child.

The walk on Thursday was local starting at Coton and taking in Madingley, Dry Drayton and Hardwick. The pub was a bit stuffy and expensive wanting pre-booking so most people opted out – we went to the nearby Garden Centre. This was a bit awkward for our leaders as the pub expected 30 or so clients and only 8 stayed.

Coton

The “Biography” topic this week was “Basil Bunting” a modernist poet with a gift for trouble ending up in gaol in three different countries.

Yesterday it was November’s “Messy Church” – not so many this month – it is very unpredictable, but went OK. We then drove down to Hornchurch to hear Esther and Havering Singers in concert performing: “The Song of Destiny” by Brahms, “The Song of the Fleet” by Stanford and “St Celia’s Mass” by Gounod. They all sang very well but it is a tad highbrow for me! We stayed the night in Hutton so have just returned.

Havering Singers

Love

Mike & Kate

9th November 2014.

Dear All,

So winter draws on! We had our first decent frost on Bonfire night so the end of the dahlias, tomatoes etc. but much later than usual.

“Just Vegetating” topic was “Salads – Fruit” i.e. Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers and Aubergines. We had a full house this week for the first time as U3A members seem to spent a disproportionate time travelling or grand child minding. We also had a veritable tapas bar of food as members slowly take up the challenge of contributing.

The film was “Spring in a Small Town” a 1948 black and white Chinese production. It was rather slow moving but supposedly a classic.

On Wednesday as some of you will know we travelled to Essex to meet up with Dave and Jen, Mary and Graham to celebrate David’s 75^th birthday. We had a meal at Weeley then on to Beaumont to view progress on the new house, chat and tea and cake.

  

The walk Thursday started at Howlett End near Thaxted. It was sticky underfoot but sunny with undulating scenery and a very good pub.

“Biography” subject was “Godfrey Hounsfield” who left school at 16 with no qualifications and ended up inventing the CAT scanner earning the Nobel Prize, 6 honary degrees and 40 other awards – but remained relatively unknown.

Friday evening we had Dave Bilbrough concert in Over Community Centre with his tour “Tales of a Troubadour” supporting “World Vision”. It was very professionally presented; 124 turned up and several signed up to support a child so it was worthwhile.

Love

Mike & Kate