26^th June 2022

 

Dear All,

It took a couple of days to get the garden and allotment under control with weeding, watering and harvesting. In addition, we have barricaded the bottom hedge and side passage against badgers. Harvesting has included cherries and red currants as well as onions and shallots.

 

Cherries

 

 

Red Currants

 

 

 

Shallots & Onions

 

 

Bottom hedge barricades

 

 

Side Passage

 

On Monday evening I took the Garden Club at Ramsey where there was a fairly lively audience and on Wednesday, we had a tour of Madingley Hall with Over Garden Club. Madingley Hall was purchased by Cambridge University in 1928 for £50,000 including all the houses in the village and 2,500 acres! We were shown round by the head gardener who has been in post since 1980 and knew the history and provenance of every tree and plant on site so made it very interesting.

 

 

Madingley Hall

 

 

Walled Garden

 

 

Sunken Garden

 

 

Evergreen Magnolia

 

Because the badgers chomped most of our strawberries while we were away, we took Arthur on an outing to Warboys to a PYO Strawberry farm. The quality was very good and made us wonder why we bother growing our own!

On Thursday our walk started at Brockley Green near Haverill and took in Hundon and a loop east initially overlooking the Stour Valley. Despite being on the warm side it was a good work out with crops mostly looking good but some spectacular wild oats and several fields mystifyingly sprayed off and fallow. The pub was not the most efficient but as they had opened especially for us, we couldn’t complain.

 

The Plough, Brockley Green

Bearded Wheat and Cracked Soil

Flint Knapped House, Brockley green

I watched a piece of Over 2nds v Milton 3rds yesterday – Test Match standard it certainly wasn’t!

Esther & Emma are back in Alpha Road with the new layout looking very roomy. Mary-Ann and Andy are awaiting carpets but again the new house will give them much more space. Kate and I hope to visit on Wednesday night to assist where we can. Ben made the Test Match on Saturday after anxiety with the train strike.

love

 

Mike & Kate