24th October 2021

 

Dear All,

Ben ran well in the Cambridge Half Marathon getting round in 1 hour 42 minutes placed 1850 out of nearly 10,000 runners. This time we managed to spot him!

 

 

Come in No. 10776

 

On Monday we were invited to Wimpole Hall by Howard Dickinson one of our walking colleagues who volunteers in the walled garden and on the allotment. The NT are cutting staff so are glad of volunteers to keep things going. A few years ago, they advertised the allotment project and received over 50 replies from interested parties, most however were not interested in working only harvesting and consuming and at one time only 2 people were keeping the project going. I was able to help with varieties especially. Then the walled garden was needing additional help and Howard and another chap have taken on a project on six large beds comparing “Dig” and “No Dig” and again were looking for some ideas.

 

 

Wimpole Allotment

 

Tuesday night was rather damp here and I recorded 27.5mm – a record so far this year. The bottom of the garden was again flooded as the pond overflowed.

 

 

Flood

 

The cricket square is looking good so far as the weather has suited the reseeded grass.

 

 

Over Lords square

 

Both Amḗlie and Albert have had +ve Covid tests this week so are off school isolating. Amḗlie has had a few symptoms but Albert seems fine and is disappointed to miss school and the weekend Park run.

Our Thursday Ramble started at Birdbrook south of Haverill and took in Stambourne Green and Steeple Bumpstead. The rain earlier in the week meant that this was the first taste of winter mud so going was more difficult than of late. We took a new member called Anne who has just moved into Over and joined the group.

 

 

Damp Field

 

 

Flooded stream

 

 

Moyn’s Park House, Birdbrook

 

We had our Covid booster jabs on Friday at the Grafton Centre in Cambridge. I was then able to get to the second half of the Biographies session this week featuring Dorothy Hodgkin  a Nobel Prize-winning British chemist who advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of biomolecules, including penicillin, B12 and insulin. She had communist party sympathies and taught Margaret Thatcher chemistry (but not politics!)

 

 

Dorothy Hodgkin

 

We had a load of muck delivered to the allotment so there has been much wheelbarrowing, spreading and digging in – with more to go so volunteers welcome!

 

 

Muck Spreading

 

I went to watch Over playing at Isleham yesterday (Over 2 v 1 Isleham) and on the way passed the vast new church called the Ark which has been self-built by members in Isleham taking 5 years. It has been featured on the BBC and local papers made of green oak and looks very impressive.

 

 

The Ark, Isleham

With love

Mike & Kate