3^rd December 2017

Dear All,

On Monday, after swimming I painted my saw bench which I have revamped – like Trigger’s broom there is little of the original remaining – but it is still over 20 years old!. In the afternoon Kate and I went to Coton Garden Centre to replace a fish tank bulb and add a couple of fish and some fresh plants. It was more like Santa’s Grotto than a Garden Centre at the moment, but we were able buy a few gifts so after two sessions and Amazon are nearly there.

“Trigger’s Saw Bench”

“Just Vegetating” featured the first part of “Minor Vegetables” this week: Scorzonera, Salsify, Hamburg Parsley etc. and the recipes were: Squash, sage and chestnut rolls, Roast fennel and pinenut polpette, Swede and honey plus a taster of Scorzonera.

In the evening Kate presented a talk on “Homelessness” at house group following a recent SP training session. Jim Burr was taken back in hospital again on Monday following three falls and general confusion. Each time seems like he won’t be returning but so far he has lasted 23 years since his first stroke.

Our Thursday walk this week started at Sturmer, south of Haverhill, and took in Boyton End and Wixoe and included part of the “Stour Valley Way”. It was fairly cold and we had a couple of snow squalls to liven things up. The pub was being rethatched with reeds which had been imported from Hungary!

Hungarian Reeds

River Stour near Sturmer

Bracing Snow Squall

David (Day) phoned in the evening to say that his hip op. had been postponed due to high blood pressure. He had been through pre op and was all robed up ready to go so it must have seemed an anti-climax.

“Biography” topic this week was “Sir Stafford Cripps”, post war chancellor blamed for extending the misery of rationing. He was a puritanical tea total, vegetarian of whom Churchill said “There but for the grace of God, goes God”. He had an MSc in chemistry, qualified as a lawyer and built a glider in his spare time. He married Isobel the heir to the Eno’s  Health Salts empire and started WWI as an ambulance driver having brought his own ambulance. He was then required to run a gunpowder factory with several thousand employees. His habit was to start work at 4.00am and always over worked which probably gave him stomach problems. He also smoked heavily which didn’t help his health. He became an MP in the Labour party and was sent to Russia to persuade them to support the anti-Nazi war effort. After the war he backed Attlee and even supplemented Attlee’s income when he claimed he couldn’t afford to stand as leader.

We “Facetimed” Stockholm on Friday where the snow had turned to rain so entertainment had changed from tobogganing to jumping in puddles.

We had a local ex Doctor at Men’s Breakfast yesterday with 27 attending. Football was a tad chilly with Over drawing 1 v 1 with Somersham.

Love

Mike & Kate