11^th October 2020

 

Dear All,

I am not sure what the collective noun for ZOOMs is – a Boom of Zooms, a Plethora of Zooms, a Zoom Collective? But I think I qualify this week as I have had seven sessions:

1.      Sunday, usual church discussion and news update

2.      Monday, Deacons meeting

3.      Wednesday, practice for U3A “Biographies” for 80-year-old lady leading this week

4.      Wednesday, First U3A class “Christian Origins and the early Church”.

5.      Thursday. CEEM/Moldova chat and update with Terry.

6.      Friday, First U3A “Biographies” session

7.      Friday, Family chat – the highlight of course!

 

The “Biographies” topic this week was “Josiah Wedgwood” of pottery fame. He was a great experimenter and developed glazing techniques and colours as well as methods of improving clay quality and once made a 956-piece tea set for Catherine the Great. He was also an enlightened employer and contributed to halting the slave trade by issuing a famous medallion.

 

 

Wedgwood & some of his Pottery

 

 

Anti-Slavery Medallion

 

The Wednesday “Christian Origins” class is taken by an Australian historian who is not a Christian so comes from an interesting direction.

Kate and I had flu jabs on Monday in St Ives so had a browse round the town and it was market day. We did not suffer any after effects (which we are owning up to!).

Derrick Medlock has been in residence next door but one, for a week and came for coffee on Tuesday. His partner Joyce had been on their regular run to Calais for rabbit medicine which is a fraction of the price in France, so she was isolating at home in Nottinghamshire. They still have approx. 200 rabbits and they have to be inoculated on a regular basis.

Our Thursday walk started at Wrestlingworth and took in Sutton and Biggleswade. It was not the most interesting walk and we got rather wet from a sudden downpour at mid-day.

 

Storm clouds over The Chequers, Wrestlingworth

 

 

Sutton Packhorse Bridge

 

 

Damp Kate

 

Kate took Laura to Hinchingbrooke Hospital on Wednesday. She lives in Swavesey and started attending to chapel after her son came to Lego events. She is very poorly with amongst other ailments a very enlarged spleen and is due for an operation this week.

I have been digging between showers mainly incorporating mustard which I sowed after potatoes for green manure and ground cover. Kate has been pruning and one look at the fig tree reminds me not to let het loose with hair trimming instruments!

 

 

Mustard incorporation

 

 

Exercise!

 

 

Supervisor!

I went to watch Over v Cherry Hinton yesterday and the rain was so violent that the referee called the players off after 43 minutes then abandoned the game as the ground was water logged. It was the hardest rain I have seen for some time but very local.

With love

Mike & Kate