23rd February 2014.

Dear All,

Stephen and Margaret Jessup called in for lunch on Friday en route from visiting their son in Peterborough to home in Maidstone.

The novelty of several dry days got me excited enough to plant broad beans, onion sets, shallots and garlic. Probably a bit early but I got carried away at the sight of sunshine!

On Monday we went swimming at 7.15am as the pool was operating half term timings – it is a good way of making your life seem longer. In the afternoon, we had a briefing on our next walking holiday in the Lake District leaving 16^th March. Our leader has a time share at Langdale and they have developed a smart new hotel on the site. As usual his briefing was very thorough – “where will you be eating on Tuesday night and at what time?”

“Eat, Drink etc” covered topics such as “Evolution and the brain”, Food Preparation” and “Food Supplies” and the U3A film was “Aguirre The Wrath of God” a Werner Herzog production about a Spanish expedition in South America seeking El Dorado.

Esther came up to Cambridge on Wednesday to redeem a 40^th present of “Tea and Cakes” at a posh restaurant with Kate and Kate Foster. I attended a funeral for John Morley an old NIAB colleague at Stretham.

Our Thursday walk started at Monk Street near Thaxted and took in Little Cambridge and Tilty. It was muddy and adventurous as the deputed leader had not carried out a recce, so we were not always where we should have been including being on the wrong side of a stream where the bridge had been washed away and replaced by a temporary affair with loose planks. This worried some of our number and one even crawled across.

John leading?

A bridge too far?

Pat’s solution!

Tilty church

The subject of this week’s Biography was “Lady Charlotte Guest”. She was high borne, the daughter of the Earl of Lyndsey and married a wealthy Welsh iron and steel manufacturer. Atypically for the times she helped in the business keeping the books and acting as secretary and running the business when her husband died. She had a gift for languages teaching herself German, French and Spanish before she was 16 then later Greek, Persian and Welsh. She started a school for employees and locals spending £20,000 on a new school which was more than the entire English education budget that year 1847. She found time to have 10 children, all of which survived to adulthood and 9 out lived her when she died aged 82. When her eldest was old enough to run the business she took up collecting porcelain, then fans and playing cards each time becoming a national expert. But her greatest achievement was translating the “Mabinogion” an ancient collection of Welsh poetry and legends into English. I am not sure what she did in her spare time!

Over played their first game for a month and were very rusty losing 1 v 0 to Eaton Socon.

Love Mike & Kate

16th February 2014.

Dear All,

I hope you have all survived this week’s weather. We were in Lincolnshire on Wednesday and had an interesting journey home. We were nearly blown off the road on the new Cowbit and Crowland by pass with lorries wobbling everywhere; then a tree across the road followed by Whittlesey Mere which looked like the Lake District.

We were in Lincolnshire to meet up with Bryan Withers who used to work with me. He suffered from polio as a child which deformed his chest. He now has severe breathing difficulties with an apparatus to help him at night. We met up with Bill (another former colleague) and Joyce Chowings who now live near Watton, Norfolk and Tony Hewitt and David Jeffries (RHS colleagues) at Surfleet for lunch.

 Whittlesey Mere

The wind was worse on Friday night and blew the end out of one of our greenhouses but thankfully the sun is shining as I write.

I rushed to the swimming pool on Monday to meet Kate after I had a dental check up – only to find it closed for GCSE exams.

“Eat, Drink and be Healthy” covered minerals this week. They comprise 4% of our body weight, we need 18, calcium is most abundant, kelp contains 1093 mg/100g and milk only 103, cheese and nuts are far better sources than milk. Iron is most likely to be short. Even one we have hardly heard of like Vanadium is necessary in insulin action, bones and regulating Na/K balance in cells and is best sourced from parsley. Kate spent the morning sitting with Mary Watts, an elderly lady who needs constant company and care, relieving her live in carer.

The U3A film this week was “Elisabeth” the Kate Winslet version with an Indian director. The review said “colourful but not historically accurate”

Our Thursday walk started at Arrington again and was mostly in and around Wimpole Hall. It was mainly sunny and not too much mud.

Wimpole walk

“Biographies” subject was Dame Laura Knight, an artist who rose from a poor background to eventually paint the Nuremberg Trials.

It was “Messy Church” again yesterday. I think the weather kept some folk at home but there was a reasonable turnout.

Love Mike & Kate

9th February 2014.

Dear All,

It was the annual church “Awayday” yesterday at March. It was lead by John Law on “Encouragement” who did OK  - but not as good as Graham of course! On the way back we had a look at the floods at Sutton Gault which were very impressive.

March – Bridge Building Exercise

Sutton Gault

Esther’s old room has been finished and everything replaced – well nearly everything as Kate has been pruning the books in her usual ruthless fashion.

In the Nutrition course we covered “Vitamins” this week which you will know are “Essential low molecular weight compounds required in trace amounts for normal growth and metabolism”. We learnt that supplements are a waste of time for healthy folk with a balanced diet, except vitamin D which is in short supply in our northern winters as it is formed in the skin in the presence of sunlight.

The U3A film was “Woman of the Dunes” a bizarre Japanese B&W offering about a man and woman trapped in depression in the dunes by a tribe of fishermen. It was very memorable and some people loved it while others (like Kate) did not.

I spoke at the Little Paxton Gardeners Club on Wednesday so called in on John to plan our next Moldova trip a little. We are booked on Moldovan Airlines this time and they have already bumped us onto a flight a day later which is not very convenient.

On Thursday Kate and I lead the walk from Horseheath via Shudy Camps avoiding as many muddy fields as possible. Kate managed most of the walk so is still progressing.

In the evening we visited Stan & Maya, a Bulgarian couple who have applied for church membership and they had unexpectedly laid on dinner. Stan is a computer expert and I currently entrust my machine to his TLC.

Have you heard of John Baillie? Maybe not this one – he was the topic of “Biographies” this week. Being Cambridge it was presented by the man who wrote his biography, George Newlands. Baillie was a Scottish, Calvinistic Minister and liberal theologian with an interesting and influential life.

Love

Mike & Kate

2^nd February 2014.

Dear All,

Esther stayed over until Monday and we went shopping in Cambridge for her birthday/Christmas/ this year/next year? present of a smart TV. This was successfully purchased at John Lewis and she was able to pick it up from the “Park & Ride” distribution point on her way home. My car suspension has been clunking for a bit so I had that fixed on Monday as well.

The “Be Healthy” talk this week was mainly on liquids – we drink 45 tons of water in a lifetime, and fats: saturated, unsaturated, trans and cholesterol. The U3A film was “Before Sunrise” which was a bit too romantic for several of the aged audience who left before the end! In the evening it was the chapel events planning meeting suggesting activities for the year which the “Events Committee” have to now sort out.

It was serious painting on Wednesday as we are redecorating Esther’s old room. Kate has done the preparation and gloss work, I have been trusted to apply the finishing touches to the ceiling and walls: one blue and three cream.

Don’t photograh me!

On Thursday I led the Abbots Ripton walk that we had recced the previous week. Unfortunately the weather was far worse as it rained most of the way and visibility for the splendid views was rather poor.

 Damp Walkers

Abbots Ripton Hall

I arrived home from this at tad damp and weary and was delighted to receive an email from our esteemed leader requesting a swap for next week as the scheduled walk is flooded and bringing forward our next leading duty from March to next week. Consequently we were out at Horseheath yesterday scouting the route for next Thursday. Kate decided to try a “gentle” walk and managed the 8 miles of mud! But her foot swelled a bit afterwards. It was quite eventful with mud and swollen streams, I slipped over and made a big impression then we met the local pheasant shoot. There were about 25 guns who were doubtless delighted to see a couple of hikers strolling through their patch!

 

Horseheath Walk

The “Biography” this week was “Mary Queen of Scots” whose life was fairly eventfully crowned at 6 days old, married at 15, widowed at 17, remarried at 23, husband murdered 2 years later, remarried same year. Imprisoned, executed 20 years later.

Love

Mike & Kate