29^th May 2022

 

Dear All,

Bold move this week upgrading my mobile phone. My old one was very basic and ceased up every time I added an app. I am not completely in the driving seat with the new one but it has potential. We had a quick shopping trip to Cambridge on Wednesday as Kate needed to find some birthday presents, then we moved on to Coton Garden Centre for aquarium filters and an albino catfish,

On Monday, after swimming I had an exchange visit with Phil Dobson the guy who usually beats me in the Veg Show. He has a large garden and Adrian helps him on a weekly basis. They have horses which helps the fertility of the outdoor plot and has invested in some sophisticated containers for growing his indoor crops.

 

 Phil’s Veg Patch

 

 

Veg Containers

 

Mafeking was relieved tooth wise on Tuesday after nursing a broken fang for over two weeks. As there was not too much of the tooth left the operation involved some serious drilling to fix some supporting structure!

Another good walk this week starting at Cowlinge, south of Newmarket with a loop down to Wickhambrook. The crops in the area were excellent with some wheat on ear and serious crops of barley and OSR.

 

 

Wheat on Ear

 

 

Wickhambrook

 

 

Processional Moth webs

In the evening I had a Zoom session with Phil who has booked to go to Moldova in June for 10 days. He hopes to help with refugee centres at two places as well as supporting the pastors and churches that we support.

Village cricket is suffering locally as despite merging with Willingham the 2^nd team failed to raise a team for the second time this year. The square still needs cutting but this was the 3^rd week without a game.

I had a photo in the Cambridge News this week despite not sending one in! The topic was “Ceremonies” and they printed a photo the last time this topic came up 2 years ago!

 

 

Evzone Guards in Athens

 

The latest photos from Hutton show that impressive progress has been maintained.

 

Kitchen

 

 

Utility Room

 

Andy took part in the London to Brighton walk yesterday, completing 100 Km in 15 hours 36 mins.

Garden wise we had some new carrots this week and winter cabbage and leeks were planted out.

 

 

First Carrots

 

Local knitting ladies have been decorating the village ready for the Platinum Jubilee,

 

 

Queen & Corgis

 

 

Decorated Seat

love

Mike & Kate 

 

 

22nd May 2022

 

Dear All,

Esther and Emma left early Monday morning for Esther to have 5 sessions at Addenbrookes culminating in a magic injection which cost £1000! Hopefully this is the beginning of greater relief. Meanwhile the changes on their house have been progressing a pace both inside and out. The latest shots seem to show the garden disappearing!

 

 

19 Alpha Road

 

Not to be outdone there is at long last movement on Mary-Ann & Andy’s house purchase with the certificate for change of use completed and a notional moving date suggested subject to the mortgage going through alright.

Amḗlie seems have had a great time camping in the New Forest with her school despite a very scary thunderstorm one night. Somehow, she managed to wet most of her clothes and arrived home with a dustbin bag full of damp clothing.

Ben completed the Copenhagen marathon in just over 4 hours despite having sore ribs from a bike accident!

After swimming on Monday we noticed an ambulance at No. 23 Dereck Medlock’s bungalow. He moved out 20 years ago but keeps it on and visits frequently. His partner, Joyce, tripped over the back doorstep and broke her hip in three places. When he rang for an ambulance, he was told it could be 10 hours! It came sooner than that but the crew said that as she was in pain, they could not administer any medicine and they needed to wait for a second ambulance! – no wonder the system is stretched.

We attended an ex NIAB employees’ lunch at Girton Golf Course Tuesday lunchtime. It was good to catch up and try and avoid just talking about medical ailments!

In the morning Arthur helped? me dig a new trench for asparagus at the allotment – he is a dab hand with a wheelbarrow. Later in the day I went back to the allotment myself to water and this created a deal of interest amongst the bees that the neighbouring allotment holder had installed the previous weekend. In the morning they were fine, now they were very angry, it seems David had completed the movement of the brood from a transport box to the hive and this upset them. I was stung twice and had to flee the scene. David later apologised for not warning us about their anger and brought round a bottle of wine to apologise.

We had a new dish washer installed Wednesday morning after its 16-year-old predecessor expired.

We started our walk from Thaxted on Thursday and looped south through Richmond’s Green, Sibley’s Green, Little Cambridge, Tilty and back via Monk Street. The rain the day before meant that it was a little sticky underfoot but it was excellent walking weather, with some very attractive architecture.

 

 

Tilty

 

Tilty Rectory

 

 

Thaxted Mill

 

Thaxted Guildhall

 

The new asparagus crowns arrived on Friday and were duly planted along with some potted raspberries.

 

Asparagus bed underway

 

 

Offending Beehive

 

 

Kate’s allotment

It was “Birds” again in the Cambridge News and I had a Bald eagle entered from Ecuador.

 

 

Bald Eagle

 

The church where we delivered “Just Vegetating”, St Clements, has had the promised bells fitted this week, this photo was in the local paper.

 

 

St Clement’s Bells

 

 

In the absence of both local cricket and football on Saturday Kate and I drove to the new visitor site for the RSPB at Earith and did a new walk for us.

 

 

RSPB near Earith

 

love

Mike & Kate

 

8th May 2022

 

Dear All,

Last Sunday afternoon we travelled to darkest Luton to visit Sveta from Moldova who was visiting her eldest daughter Aliona. When we first visited Moldova she had hardly left Burlacu and slaved away raising her family of 7 and tending tunnels and fields of potatoes and vines. However, at some stage she and her husband decided they needed to buy a house in Cahul, the nearest town for the children to live in while completing their further education. Sergei went to Russia to drive a lorry a few times and Sveta went to the US as a nanny seven times. She is extremely energetic and now has married daughters in England, France, USA and Moldova. Son-in-Law Victor is a carpenter and works all over the country. Their flat is to say the least basic!

 

Phil, Kate, Sveta, Victor, Eliasec & Aliona

 

Trip to Knapwell Woods on Tuesday with Arthur to see bluebells also numerous oxlips.

 

 Kate, Arthur & bluebells

 

Oxlips

John Law arrived on Tuesday, Terry and Phil from CEEM came for meal and John stayed overnight. He had been staying with one daughter in Lincolnshire and set up shop in Wetherspoons in Huntingdon Tuesday afternoon while various folks visited including his other daughter who had not been in contact for four years.

 

 Kate & John

 

After John left Wednesday morning returning to Turkey, Kate and I did a recce for next week’s walk starting at Wyton and taking in the Hemingfords, St Ives and Houghton. We then called in on Margery Johnson’s 90^th birthday garden party. This left a little time to celebrate Kate’s 75^th!

  

Cathy & Margery

 

Houghton Mill

 

On Thursday the walk started at Potton and took in Sandy RSPB, Biggleswade Common and Sutton. It was dry and sunny with the trees showing early leaves, plenty of flowers and several fields of OSR. At the pub one young lad prepared and served food for 24 of us on his own.

 

 

Potton Old Railway Station

  

Break on Biggleswade Common

 

 

Sandy RSPB

 

3mm of rain this week which was not enough but better than nothing. I have planted out the first sweet corn and sowed winter brassicas, melons and more lettuce.

 

Andy completed the round Isle of Wight walk 106 km in 16 hours 26 minutes with a break in the middle and finished high up in the rankings for his category. Ben departed for Norway and Sweden yesterday culminating in the Copenhagen marathon next weekend.

We watched Over’s last football match yesterday losing 1 v 0 to West Wratting.

love

Mike & Kate

 

1^st May 2022

 

Dear All,

Decorating completed so life can return to normal!

 

Dining Room

Kate and I started the week in the swimming pool which seemed to be following advice to reduce fuel costs by lowering the water temperature! We went on to Oakington Garden Centre for coffee and a few purchases. I then distributed 30 odd spare Tomato plants to 4 deserving causes in the village.

We had Arthur again on Tuesday and took him for another ride on the Guided Bus to St Ives. Last week we were able to claim the front seat upstairs so he could “drive” the bus. This week it was occupied so he sat in the seat behind and announced in a loud voice that “he would like to sit in the front seat” and the incumbent lady kindly vacated the seat!

On Wednesday John Lane and I prepared the wicket for the first game of the season: cutting, rolling and marking out. I have never known the wicket to be so dry in April.

 Numbers were down for the walk on Thursday as of the 60 who went on a HF holiday in Derbyshire 20 went down with Covid! The walk began at Little Walden near Saffron Walden and looped to Ashdon and back. The shorter walk was 8.5 miles and very enjoyable with many flowers and gentle undulations. The longer walk, led by Philip got lost and returned 40 minutes late having completed 12.5 miles! We stopped to look at Ashdon church and a warden came by and filled us in with some of the village history as it is believed that there was a battle there in 1016 won by Cnut which led to him taking the crown from Edward Ironside.

 

Little Walden Lake

 

 Ashdon church

 

Break on Handy furniture

  

Park Farm, Little Walden

 

Garden wise the Wisteria has been in full bloom and I have rashly planted out Runner and climbing French Beans. Kate has planted Chrysanthemums and Sweet Peas at the allotment. Peas, Broad beans and overwintered Alliums are looking good but my asparagus is very slow and we were grateful to Glynis for a hand out.

  

Wisteria

  

Peas & Broad Beans

  

Alliums

 

Andy is on a 106 km walk round the Isle of Wight this weekend, Ben is training for the Copenhagen marathon and Esther and Emma are on the east coast at Winterton-on-Sea belatedly celebrating Emma’s mother’s 70^th birthday. CEEM founder John Law is currently back in the UK sorting divorce papers and due to stay with us on Tuesday night. This afternoon Kate, Phil and I plan to visit Sveta a Moldovan mother of 7 staying with her eldest daughter in Luton. She was an absolute workaholic looking after a large garden, several fields and tunnels in Burlacu while bringing up seven children. She was the recipient of one of the original NIAB tunnels that we took to Moldova and has since worked for two spells in the USA as a nanny to raise money to educate the children.

Football and cricket yesterday. We watched the 2^nd football team who had a bad start to the season and got to Christmas with no points. They have since won 4 times and needed to win yesterday to stay up. They are a very young team and although they were one up for most of the game conceded 4 in the last 15 minutes. The 1^st team won 3 v 0 at March and the cricket team narrowly lost their first game.

love

Mike & Kate