28th March 2021

 

Dear All,

The rain gauge has continued to work well – in 10 days we have only had one shower of 3.5mm, I should have started earlier! This has meant catching up with sowing, planting, digging and gardening in general. I have sown Red beet, Salad Onions and Broad beans, planted shallots, cauliflowers, lettuce, watercress and maincrop potatoes, pricked out peppers and aubergines and dug after winter brassicas at the allotment and the rest of Ken Elsom’s garden. Meanwhile Kate has tidied the front garden and filled all the spare space in the greenhouses with flower seeds. I have also constructed another compost bin for the allotment.

There are noticeable colonies of ladybirds this year.

 

 

Front Garden

 

 

Local Wildlife

We have registered for Postal Votes for the first time this week – must be getting old?

We are due to meet other walkers in groups of 6 next week and we are due to lead so we practiced the route on Thursday through the RSPB reserve, across the river at the Staunch, along the river then round Barleycroft Lake and the Gravel works and back along the river. We started in sunshine but it clouded over but was pleasant enough. We saw a pair of Egyptian Geese and another of Oyster catchers. Wild Plum and Sloes were in full blossom as well as Pussy Willows. Some of the dykes feeding into the river had been cleared and along one there were several little ledges running just above the water line – clearly some sort of rodent but we had never seen them before. As ever the badgers had been very active with fresh digging at two sites.

 

Badger Sett

 

Wild Cherry

 

Barleycroft Lake

 

Water Rodent Run

 

U3A term has finished but the Biography group voted to continue Zoom meeting for chat and gossip. They had very generously donated £100 to CEEM as I handle the visuals so I gave them a short chat about Moldova.

Esther & Emma kindly sent Kate a delayed Mother’s Day offering of some very artistically decorated biscuits.

 

 

Artistic Biscuits

I have had photos published in the Cambridge News 2 weeks running, last week it was “Statues” and this week “Skies”. My submissions were “Elvis in the People Palace, Glasgow” and “Sunset over Over”.

 

 

Elvis

 

 

Sunset over Over

 

It has also been the week for painting the outdoor garden furniture.

 

 

George Day memorial table!

 

I have not been feeling great over the last few weeks and recorded some high Blood Pressure scores so have been put on medication. It must be my lifestyle, not enough walking or fresh vegetables and too much smoking and boozing!

With love

Mike & Kate

 

21st March 2021

 

Dear All,

Kate brought me a rain gauge for my birthday and as predicted by some it has put paid to the rain so far! I did very well for books as gifts as well as a game, some funky seeds, 2 bottles of wine and some sweets called “Jellyatrics” for the elderly with reduced dental power! Thanks to for gifts and cards. We had a wild day of celebration by going to the Garden Centre in the morning and the allotment in the afternoon!

 

 

Rain Gauge

 

 

Cake – flamingo nesting theme!

 

 

Birthday Loot

The allotment activity this week has been concerned with spreading the bark chipping heap along paths and mulching fruit trees – it certainly makes things look tidier.

 

 

Bark Chippings

 

 

More chippings

 

Yesterday was dry enough to plant early potatoes, beetroot and module onions here and potatoes and onion sets at Ken Elsom’s. I also constructed another compost bin at the allotments from pallets.

Mervyn lent me a scarifier so the lawn has had a thorough seeing to after the lawn sand has checked the moss.

On Thursday we walked from Knapwell to Boxworth, Childerley then back through Knapwell Woods. It was chilly but a pleasant day for walking, although the path in the woods is always muddy. We explored the woods a little, it was predominantly elm destroyed by Dutch Elm disease and the 1987 gales but now recovering. The main features are dead wood and moss which are good for wildlife, a huge badger sett and the first oxlip just showing colour.

 

 

Knapwell Church

 

 

Mossy logs

 

Damp Patch!

The last session of “Biographies” featured Enoch Powell. I knew a little of his political career but learnt a lot about his scholarship and military exploits. He was a workaholic at Cambridge University working from 5.30am to 9,30pm every day and achieved a double star first and won every prize going. He became a professor in Sydney aged 25 – the youngest in the whole Commonwealth and volunteered for the army in 1939 as a Private. He was drafted into the Intelligence Core and sent to Egypt with Auchinleck where he helped draft strategy for Alamein then on to India being promoted all the time eventually rising to be the youngest Brigadier aged 32. After the war he decided to go into politics working at Conservative Central Office hoping to be adopted as a Parliamentary candidate. He was turned down 19 times before being taken on by Wolverhampton SW in 1950.

 

 

Enoch Powell

We are leading the chapel Zoom this morning on “Friendship”

With love

Mike & Kate

 

14^th March 2021

 

Dear All,

The wind has dominated outdoor activities this week. On Thursday we kept to hard surfaces and walked to Willingham then Longstanton along the road then returned alongside the Guided Busway. The difference between the wind behind you and in your face was very noticeable. We encountered two dead badgers presumably having come off second best when meeting vehicles and the Guided Busway embankment has been colonised by rabbits and now resembles Watership Down!

 

 

Poorly Badger

 

Modern Architecture in Willingham

 

 

Mistletoe

 

Tropical Willingham

 

Earlier in the week we visited Mill Pits to check the daffodils and yesterday we circumnavigated the Fen and were nearly blown away.

 

 

Mill Pits

 

I have had further contact with Air Moldova regarding last years cancelled flight. They now say that the offer of a refund expired last December (which they had kept secret!) and that we could still have a voucher or rebook but this offer expires in October this year. As we are unlikely to go to Moldova this year the offer is predictably less than generous – unless one of you would like to take a trip with Air Moldova?

The U3A Wednesday lecture this week was on “South African San Rock Art” Sam Challis speaking from South Africa via Zoom has spent many years studying 75,000-year-old paintings of animals and humans trying to interpret their meaning. Evidently, they are less to do with hunting and gathering but more with spiritual experiences in death or coming of age.

 

 

 

Eland

“Biographies” subject was the artist Artemesia Gentileschi born 1593 in Rome. She was one of the first women to be regarded as a Master. Her early work was influenced by being raped as a teenager and depicts men having a thin time by having their heads chopped off etc. She produced some excellent paintings while still very young and was invited to England by Charles 1.

 

Artemesia Gentileschi Self Portrait

 

Kate has continued her “Bird Song Recognition” course so is almost an expert now! She did another run to Hinchingbrooke with Lorna who is still waiting for a PICC line to facilitate blood sampling, Evidently the holdup is due to Brexit!

I have applied Lawn Sand to our grass to try and reduce the moss this week. I borrowed Merv’s spreader as dosing by hand last year caused scorching. Otherwise, I have begun planting outdoors: Peas, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflowers and onion sets. At the allotment we are now the proud owners of a large heap of wood chippings to use on the pathways as well as mulching.

 

 

First Pea plantings

 

I have been backing up my PC to the Cloud on Graham’s recommendation. Unfortunately, I was not selective enough so it has saved everything and filled my free allowance so I am having to painstakingly remove quite a few.

We received Mother's Day and Birthday goodies yesterday from E & E D-D!

 

 

 

 

With love

Mike & Kate

 

7^th March 2021

 

Dear All,

I tuned into two excellent U3A talks this week. On Tuesday the Science lecture was entitled “SARS and COV -2 Infection - Where are we now?” by Prof. Paul Lehner who is a member of the Covid Advisory Panel. His talk covered: lost opportunities, why is the virus so successful? the history of the Pandemic and what we have learnt so far. One reason that the virus has been so successful is that it builds and peaks in infected hosts before any symptoms are shown so it is being spread before people realise, they are infected.

The second talk was “Conflict on the Roof of the World – Himalayan Politics and Warfare” by Henry Edmundson. He has climbed 4 of the highest peaks in the Himalayas and been on 9 long treks covering nearly the whole range. He concentrated on the India/Pakistan confrontation in Kashmir and the China/ India face off over Tibet. He covered the historical build up to these disputes, what has happening currently and what might happen in the future. As you might expect he had some fantastic photographs of the mountains and has just published a book “Tales from the Himalayas” for as little as £33!

Otherwise, we have stripped ivy from a few more gravestones, trimmed Ken Elsom’s hedge, cut the grass for the first time, laid fleece on the allotment to warm the soil and harvested some decent Purple Sprouting Broccoli.

On Thursday we walked through the orchard to Swavesey, past the windmill to the RSPB reserve, the river, Overcote and home. After heavy rain Wednesday night, it was a little sticky but not as bad as it has been. Highlight was almost seeing a seal in a dyke round the reserve, we met a jogger who had just seen one near the guided busway but it was not showing when we arrived.

 

 

Swavesey Windmill

 

RSPB still overflowing

 

 

River Ouse

 

Another member of our walking group died this week, Rosemary Pollack was a remarkable Jewish solicitor whose family had fled Nazi persecution. She had been involved in smuggling funds to the ANC in South Africa supporting the fight against Apartheid.

“Biographies” topic this week was Charles Orr Stanley he was a businessman who played an important role in the early development of commercial radio and television in Great Britain, especially in his role as head of Pye Ltd in Cambridge. He saw the potential of radio then TV very clearly and at one time had 109 companies worldwide.

 

 

Charles Orr Stanley

Mervyn Howard was 80 yesterday and a number of us gathered (socially distanced) outside his house to sing Happy Birthday and Kate had made some cakes to distribute.

 

 

Gordon & Mervyn

 

 

Well Wishers

With love

Mike & Kate