26th April 2020

Dear All,

And another one down and another week bites the dust! More walking, gardening, ZOOMing and biography writing. However there have been a few highlights this week: I received a £5,000 donation for CEEM, our Thursday walk was excellent and I have assembled a garden seat from a flat pack.

The cheque came from a guy in Ipswich who used to work in Ipswich Building Society and initially he was going to hand over cash but due to the restrictions eventually sent a cheque with no questions asked as to it’s use in Moldova. I have never knowingly been involved in money laundering so I am just concentrating on how we get the money to Moldova - usually these transactions work the opposite direction!

We have walked every day and still not repeated a walk but on Thursday did a longer outing through the RSPB reserve to the river and followed the river bank to Earith and back. It was ideal conditions so we did not hurry and took 4 hours for 9-10 miles. We heard a bittern booming, the first cuckoo and saw Marsh Harriers, Terns, goslings and ducklings. A herd of English White cattle grazing the flood bank included a decent sized bull who did not even look up when we passed a yard to his rear.

Bluntisham church across Berry Fen

View from Earith bridge

 

Spot the Bull contest

1947 Flood Memorial stone

  

A few Goslings

I ordered a new garden seat for Kate’s birthday which arrived early as a flat pack. As it was too large to hide it has been assembled and handed over prematurely.

The Queen enthroned!

Kate risked another outing to Tesco this week and was encouraged by the improved arrangements. Also they seemed to have everything needed except bread flour.

The mild weather has pushed everything earlier in the garden so a few late frosts would cause havoc.

Allotment Spuds

Judas Tree

We have a Zimbabwean chap working as a carer in the village at present and he has decided to plant a vegetable garden on his farm (back garden!). I have set him up with seed and tomato plants and his neighbour supplied seed potatoes. He asked the neighbour “When should I bury these and when will they be resurrected”. He was a translator in the court in Harare but like so many had to depart from Mr Mugabe’s benevolent regime.

Keep or get well.

With love

Mike & Kate