31st May 2015

31st May 2015.

Dear All,

Cricket started in earnest this week with the Chapel team turning out on Thursday night against Anglian Water at Queens & Robinson College pitch in Cambridge. The college grounds are mostly immaculate with the out fields better than our wicket (not true!) and huge. We did not win but performed OK and I got a wicket with my first ball of the season. Yesterday I was plucked out of Saturday retirement (again) as Over 2nds were short. It was a very long afternoon playing the top of the table and two gentlemen from the sub continent put on nearly 200. No we did not win that match either and I am creaking a little this morning.

On Thursday Over hosted a county U10 game, it was well attended with adoring parents and like watching a test match in miniature as tiny well equipped nine year olds tossed down leg breaks.

Our Thursday walk was an excellent stroll in the north of our area at Nassington near Peterborough, taking in Elton, Warmington (not on Sea!) and Fotheringhay of castle fame, partly following the Nene valley.

River Nene

Elton Mill

Warmington Mill

Fotheringhay Castle mound

Fotheringhay church

Otherwise plenty of gardening – we have filled the allotment and have run out of space.

Marshalls Seed Company have been in touch. They are celebrating 60 years in business and want to plug varieties that they have introduced which have made an impact in that time. However they have no one at the company with more than 10 years experience – could I help. This means wading through 400 varieties.

We are off to Norfolk this afternoon staying in our friends converted barn at Northrepps near Cromer. Esther, Mary-Ann and Amélie are joining us today and Ben and Andy later in the week.

Love

Mike & Kate

24th May 2015

24th May 2015.

Dear All,

It was our turn to Amélie sit this week. She is still into bugs and snails and spends time in the garden searching for fresh specimens. On Wednesday we visited friends Robert & Heather we met in Turkey, who live in Bexhill-on-Sea. We took them for lunch at a garden centre near Battle, then strolled on the beach at Cooden – a prime seakale site.

We travelled back via Pevensey Castle.

 Bug Hunting

Bexhill-on-Sea Clock Tower

Bexhill-on-Sea Front

Pevensey Castle

We had a local walk on Thursday starting at Stowe cum Quy taking in Little Wilbraham, Bottisham, Lode and Anglesey Abbey. It was 10 miles and sunny all trip with a large turnout. Philip, our illustrious leader, had his second knee replacement on Wednesday. We half expected to see him on Thursday as he attacked his recovery exercises after the first replacement with considerable zeal!

Lode Mill

Otherwise it has been cricket pitch preparation and intensive gardening. The allotment is reasonable but the sweet corn has been visited by either rabbits or muntjac deer so we have erected the vegetable cage over it. Both greenhouses are more or less full with tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, peppers, aubergines and a sweet potato.

Kate and I were on “Street Pastors Nitelife” cafe duty last night. It was fairly quiet until about 1.30 am when the neighbouring night club had a toilet failure so we had a steady stream of those anxious for relief! Apart from that there were the usual over indulgers, street dwellers and a large group from Ely who had to wait for over an hour for their taxi. We got to bed at 4.45 am and I was presenting the children’s talk this morning and Kate was involved in the shared lunch - so no slouching!

Love

Mike & Kate

17 May 2015

17th May 2015.

Dear All,

We have experienced an action packed few days in North Wales. On Sunday we broke the journey at Upton Cressett, near Bridgenorth. It is a remote Tudor manor house with an attractive Elizabethan Gatehouse restored in the 1970’s by Sir Bill Cash. He was due to show us round but had instead chosen to travel to London to heap congratulations on David Cameron! We did a short, but steep walk there before being shown round by one of his staff who had been campaigning for UKIP!

We were staying at the Riverside Hotel at Betws-y-Coed which is in a fantastic situation but the evening meals were rather designed for artistic impression rather than filling after walking all day.

Upton Cressett Gatehouse

There was a choice of walks each day: long, short or very short. We chose the long walk on Monday which started at Dolwyddelan station and rose up to Ty Mawt Wybenant, a decent climb but made more of a challenge by near gale force winds and boggy underfoot conditions. The walk was just over 10 miles but seemed longer!

On Ty Mawt Wybenant

On Tuesday we had a bird themed walk guided by a local. This entailed leaving at 6.30 am with the hotels version of a packed breakfast: a minute croissant, small pot of jam, a small cake, a pack of biscuits and a bottle of water. The walk was excellent rising from the river at Swallow Falls around a couple of lakes. We evidently saw 41 different birds and heard calls of 6 more but it was 17 miles in total and we were out for 9.5 hours.

Swallow Falls

We had a free day on Wednesday and chose to go to Bodnant Gardens. These are truly spectacular with Rhodedendrons, Azelias and mature trees in profusion – probably the best garden I have visited. In the afternoon we visited Llandudno and took the tram up to the Great Orme, and strolled to the end of the pier.

Bodnant Gardens

Llandudno from the Tram

Thursday started wet so the proposed ascent of Snowdon was squashed and we chose the shorter walk in the woods above Betws-y-Coed – a mere 8.5 miles. The return journey on Friday was much slower than the outward one with traffic lams on the M6 at Wolverhampton and the road works at the A 14 junction. We stopped with a few others at Swinford for lunch and were home by 5 pm – just in time to prepare the pitch for Saturday.

Saturday was “Messy Church” and Kate was in charge as Rachel was away. Numbers were down but we still get new people showing up.

Love

Mike & Kate

9th May 2015.

Dear All,

As we are off to Wales early tomorrow this is just a brief note on Saturday night. We celebrated Kate’s birthday on Monday by reccying a walk at Stoke-by-Clare. It was a beautiful day and a fine walk so what more could she have wished for?!

Our lodger finally left yesterday having been allocated a council flat in Cambridge. It was in a bit of a state so Kate and Rebecca spent several days cleaning and painting while I was in Moldova and I helped on Tuesday. The result is now quite respectable apart from a leak in the bathroom from upstairs shower. She has benefitted from our neighbours demise and had her pick of the furniture as the house is currently being cleared. The result was that on Friday it needed two journeys with a packed van to move all her clobber. It is amazing how much stuff she had collected since moving in last July. She is what Alexander McCall Smith would call a “Traditionally Built Lady” and while packing her car for the move slipped horizontally between front and back seats and got wedged. Kate had gone to pack other goods and I discovered her in fits of laughter quite unable to move. We will not forget her in a hurry!

My children will probably remember Eileen King; she died last week after a long battle with cancer and her funeral was held on Wednesday. She was a very popular and positive individual so there was a large gathering to see her off.

There was a good turnout of 39 for the actual walk from Stoke-by-Clare. We led the so called shorter walk which ended up at 9.2 miles and the weather was not so nice as Monday but still reasonable.

Stoke-by-Clare

Later that night we prepared the cricket pitch for the first Saturday home match as well as two junior games during the week.

On Friday I had arranged a chapel visit to Queens College gardens and buildings. The head gardener is an ex NIAB man. It has some seriously old buildings and he has done a good job with the gardens.

Mathematical Bridge

Presidents Lodge

Historic Sun & Moon Dial

It was the Street Pastors AGM and lunch at Great Shelford today so it was good to meet some of the other volunteers.

This weekend Esther has flown to Bulgaria to help design a user friendly garden for those with physical and learning difficulties, Mary-Ann, Andy and Amélie have been in Lanzarote for over a week and Ben is in Skopjie for a marathon. As there have been riots there we hope he can run fast enough!

Love

Mike & Kate

3^rd May 2015.

Dear All,

As I have sent you all a copy of my report on the trip to Moldova I won’t bore you by repeating it all. It was a very good trip and it is amazing how much you can fit into a week once you know the ropes.

There are always pluses and minuses on these visits. On the positive side were the new church building at Burlacu, the development of so many promising young people who would like to stay in Moldova, spreading the tunnel interest into another village, the seed arriving in time, finding Gromwell for NIAB and attending a Moldovan Wedding for the first time. Against this the crops have never looked worse thanks to high winds and late frosts, several familiar faces are abroad either permanently or temporarily, the town of Leova is still difficult and depressing, Illie still hasn’t completed his house (but has a splendid goat shed!), The Ukrainian situation has knock on effects with inflation affecting business and the sanctions against Russia making life hard for Moldovans working there as wages are cut or jobs cancelled.

In addition John got severely stung by bees and reacted with slight shock and swollen hands.

Other first time experiences were tours of both the local flour mill and the vinery.

I will put photos in “Dropbox” once I have finished labelling them; meanwhile here are a few of Johns.

With Illie at Leova (Goat shed in background)

Wedding Food

Kate had kept all the plants alive while I was away and has been busy painting our lodgers council flat that she has been allocated in Cambridge. It is not special – but is a start. She has not moved out as yet but it could happen next weekend.

On Friday I had an appointment at Ely Hospital to have a myxoid cyst removed from my left little finger. It was a long process for such a small op. as I had an appointment for 10.30 am and nothing exciting happened until 1.30 pm. The operation took 20 minutes or so and I now have a “T shaped” wound and 6 stitches.

We should be off to Snowdonia next weekend for 5 days with the Walking Group.

Love

Mike & Kate