28th November 2021
Dear All,
Winter arrived suddenly
yesterday causing the postponement of Santa arriving on his sleigh to switch on
the Christmas lights on the Green. A large do was planned with stalls, carol
singing, brass band etc. The chapel had booked a stall to distribute books and
200 mince pies so hopefully a smaller event will take place this afternoon if
Santa can rearrange his schedule.
After a few chilly swims
the pool was virtually back to normal but the uncertain temperatures had
reduced the participants so there were only 4 swimming apart from our car load
of three, so almost a private pool!
Arthur helped (?) us
erect a fence at the allotment on Tuesday but later in the week failed a Covid
test so is now isolating and we are checking!
Our History session this
week concentrated on Offa who was king of Mercia for 39 years during which he
built the dyke and went to great lengths to ensure the succession of his son
Eegfrith. When Offa eventually died in796, Eegfrith took over but only lasted
141 days. Then the Vikings started to raid the first raid was to Lindisfarne in
793.
Our Thursday walk this
week started at Leighton Bromswold along the A14 beyond Huntingdon. The pub,
the Green Man is one of the oldest in the country and the landlord sensibly
dispenses with his normal menu when 30 walkers descends and makes a large vat
of Irish Stew. It is not the most scenic walk but was enjoyable because it was
wall to wall sunshine and dry underfoot. Highlight was spotting a fox in broad
daylight.
The
Green Man, Leighton Bromswold
Leighton
Bromswold Marker Stone (for public meetings)
Castle
House, Leighton Bromswold
A
few Autumn Leaves
Our Biographies subjects
were two black ladies who were slaves but were adopted by wealthy families and
experienced very different lives to what they might have been. Dido Elizabeth Bell
was the result of a liaison between a rear admiral and a slave in the West
Indies in the 1700s and was adopted by Lord and Lady Mansfield, he was Lord
Chief Justice of England at the time. Sarah Forbes Bonetta was captured by the
King of Dahomey in 1850 and sent to Queen Victoria as a present who adopted her
and gave her an education.
Sarah Forbes Bonetta
I helped Adrian finish digging
his garden yesterday before it started to rain then watched football played in
a freezing gale - Over 3 v2 Hemingford.
Natasha sent a photo of
the Derbyshire weather yesterday:
Bolehill,
Derbyshire
Esther and Emma are
having major work in their garden involving a fence replacement and building a
garden room and shed, work started on Wednesday and so far, it is chaos!
19
Alpha Road, Hutton
Discussing Estonia with
Ben I came across photos of eccentric English folk dressing in traditional
costume!
Lady
Mary!
With love
Mike
& Kate
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