30th October 2022

 

Dear All,

Dave and Ana Garlick were here Sunday afternoon from Ecuador to take the evening service so we did not get away until after 7.15 pm to drive down to Hove. It was a steep learning curve to undertake the first meaningful journey in the new car in the dark, pouring with rain with the rotovator in the back blocking the rear view. However it is nice car to drive and we made it in one piece. We were in Hove on grandparent duty as M-A was working and Andy in Stockholm. The rotovator was on board because Mary-Ann and Andy wanted a tatty unlevel area of grass levelled and reseeded. That was the first task Monday morning this was followed by a trip to the swimming pool. Amḗlie has just passed grade 5 and can swim well and Albert managed to do a width recently so was very keen to demonstrate his skill.

On Tuesday it was pumpkin carving followed by a trip to Brighton Marina. After lunch in Weatherspoon’s, we went rock pooling under the chalk cliffs, as the tide retreats it uncovers a large stretch of chalk with many pools.

 

 

Pumpkin Carving

 

Lawn Improvement

 

 

Rock Pooling

 

Back home on Thursday our walk started at Wyton and Houghton in rain so it was into waterproof clothing but by 11 am the sun was out so much sweating and stripping! Kate and I were leading one of the walks which went by Houghton Mill, via the water meadows to Hemingford Abbots, Hemingford Grey and St Ives.

 

 

Autumn Leaves in Wyton churchyard

 

 

 

Reflections

 

Hemingford Abbots

 

 

Houghton Mill

 

The Biography subject on Friday was Pamela Churchill Harriman who left school at 14, eventually married waster Randolph Churchill, got on well with Winston and was hostess for many visiting dignitaries. After divorcing Randolph, she had countless affairs including with Avril Harriman the US Ambassador to the UK, married again to an American Impresario for a few years until he died then married Harriman after his wife died. Through him she became heavily involved with Democratic Party politics and was made US Ambassador to France – not bad for leaving school at 14.

 

 

Pamela Churchill Harriman

 

In the evening we ran a quiz to raise funds at the Day Centre. It was heavily booked with 70 attending and several being turned away. Kate thinks up all the questions and I was Quiz Master. It seemed to go very well despite being very crowded and rather warm.

 

 

Quiz Night

Meanwhile the Chapel School rooms were being painted during half term, apart from the walls the drab brown ceiling was painted white for the first time and this has made a significant difference.

 

 

Decorated School Room

 

Kate has been struggling nights and mornings with the Polymyalgia as she has determinedly reduced the daily intake of steroids – possibly too quickly and the doctors has advised a slight increase.

The Cambridge News feature this week was “Falling” and I managed two entries – one of which might be familiar with my daughters!

 

 

Sieving Falling Beans in Ecuador

 

 

 

Novel way of entering the front door.

Love

Mike & Kate

 

23rd October 2022

 

Dear All,

I guess the highlight of this week is trading in our car and buying another, we opted for the same model but it has been considerably updated and not for nothing do they refer to the dashboard as the “Cockpit”! The old car was showing signs of wear and the local garage thought the clutch was going and the gearbox sync probably as well and as these would be costly replacements it was more than the value of the car was worth.

 

 

KD19TVA

 

We missed the first week of the new U3A term walking last week so had some catching up to do. On Monday it was “Next Question” a session on quizzes. It consisted of 2 x 20 question quizzes then a few fillers at the end. It was quite good but the leader had a very quiet voice so it was a strain to catch the questions. Kate meanwhile was on a Zoom about the Brain, this week including dyslexia.

 

On Tuesday we both attended “Napoleon” and this was excellent covering his rise to power and meeting with Josephine. On Wednesday I tuned into a lecture on “Agricultural Risks and their effect on World food supplies”.

Kate was not feeling too good so we missed the Thursday walk which was a blessing as we recorded 36mm rain – the most in a single day this year. It cleared up in the afternoon so we walked through the RSPB reserve to Brownshill Staunch.

 

 

Overcote Pond

 

 

Overcote Road

 

 

Brownshill Staunch

 

 

Torrent

 

 

Tough Guys

 

It was back to “Biographies” on Friday the topic this week being “Elizabeth Mackintosh”. She was a Scottish novelist and playwright who also wrote under the pseudonyms Josephine Tey and Gordon Daviot. Her most famous book “The Daughter of Time” examined Richard IIIs role in the murder of the babes in the tower and found him not guilty.

 

 

Elizabeth Mackentosh

Over managed to play a home match on their own ground for the first time yesterday as the pitch had been suffering from stony topsoil dressing and a plague of rabbits digging holes. They responded well and beat 2^nd in the table Cambridge University Press 4 v 0.

We are expecting Dave Garlick to take the service this evening then we plan to drive down to Hove to mind the grandchildren for a couple of days of half term while Mary-Ann is at work and Andy visits Sweden for the first time since lockdown.

Love

 

 

 

Mike & Kate

 

16th October 2022

 

Dear All,

Kate and I travelled up to Lancashire last Saturday and stayed the night near Longridge at a very smart hotel called “Ferrari” after the racing car family. As we arrived at 3.30 pm, we started doing the recce for the first walk on Monday. The couple we were supposed to meet unfortunately dropped out that morning with Covid. On Sunday we had nearly a full day on the recce and we both agreed that it was one of the most difficult we had done as the paths were poorly marked and little trodden so we went wrong on numerous occasions.

 

 

 

Ferrari

 

We stayed for the rest of the week at the “Gibbon Bridge Hotel” which was also very smart, our room had 2 floors and a jet stream bath. There were 27 in the party and we led the shorter (10.6 miles!) walk on Monday. It started at the hotel and circulated along the valley and back along a ridge. Apart from the lack of signs the other main feature was the number of styles: 47 in the first two days walking in various states of repair and gates fastened by string, rope, wire, chains and barbed wire. It was big dairy cattle country with every farm having large herds both indoors and out.

 

 

The Party

 

 

Rainbow over Blackmoss

 

 

White Fold Hill

 

On Tuesday we started from Beacon Fell Country Park and walked along the river Brock which was reputed to have inspired Tolkien when writing “The Lord of the Rings”. Philip our ex-army man was leading not having carried out a recce and we were led astray more than once leading a non-regular walker Anna to sit on a bench and say “I am not going any further!”

 

 

Descending Beacon Fell

 

 

Walmsley Bridge

 

Up until now the weather had been kind but Wednesday was not so good which was a pity as we were climbing and the views would have been good. We started at Abbeystead, followed the Tarnbrook Wyre then climbed up to Dunkenshaw Fell. The climb was fine but the top was clothed in low cloud and drizzle and we were rather damp by the time we finished,

 

 

Near the top

 

 

Damp Lunch

Thursday, we tackled Ingleborough which was the longest climb starting at Ingleton we intended to descend to Clapham having left half the cars there. It was a beautiful sunny day and an excellent scenic walk but unfortunately a lady in our group (called Jennifer Day) blew up in tears and could not make the top. Our leader on this day, Ian was loth to split the party so we all descended the way we had come half an hour from the top. Meanwhile, Philip, impatient as ever had gone ahead and reached the top with out phone, water or map so did not know what had happened.

 

 

Ascent from Ingleton

 

 

Ingleborough on the skyline

 

 

Descent

 

All told it was an enjoyable week with the highlights being the accommodation, the styles, and a couple announcing their wedding next year – he is 76 and she is 74. U3A is not known as a matching organisation but we wish them well.

On the way back on Friday we stopped off at Bridgewater, Salford the latest RHS garden. They have taken on an old site of a mansion and estate which was crumbling away and renovated to a starting degree. There is a huge 11 acre walled garden and they are in the process of establishing a large Chinese garden. Most of the AGM vegetable trials are planned to be grown there but we only saw one small and not very impressive celeriac trial.

 

 

Kitchen Garden

 

 

Autumn colours in the Paradise Garden

 

 

Chinese Garden

 

 

Love

 

 

 

Mike & Kate