29th January 2023

 

Dear All,

It was a -7°C start to the week and on Monday you tend to think “Do I really want to go for a swim?” but when you go with friends you get carried away with the group momentum! The pool was a reasonable temperature and only 10 participants so a not unpleasant experience. Mervyn is very good and takes us into Cambridge after swimming and drops us outside the Friends Meeting House for “Just Vegetating”. This week it was “Alliums” and Kate produced Shallot tartin, Sauerkraut, Leek and cheese bake and Red Onion and cucumber salad.

On Tuesday we did a recce at Therfield for a walk we are leading next week. The ground was still frozen but we planned to avoid some potentially very muddy stretches now that it has thawed. One highlight was spotting a white pheasant – something I have never seen before.

 

 

White Pheasant

 

 

 Potential Hazard

 

Norman Ingle was here again for lunch on Wednesday before church group discussion at the Kitson’s. The Day Centre sent an email asking whether we would like to present two quizzes this year and would I give a talk on gardening to the inmates. The answers were no – too much work and yes – but how to entertain geriatrics with hearing difficulties!

The Thursday walk was more demanding than Tuesday as the top inch had thawed and the going was sticky but not too bad as it was still solid below. We started at Shepreth and took in Fowlmere, Foxton and Barrington.

 

 

9 Furrow Reversible Plough

 

 

 

Foxton

 

 

Shepreth Mill

The Biography subject on Friday was Lachlan Macquarie who was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, and had a leading role in the social, economic, and architectural development of the colony. He had served in India and Egypt before Australia where he had a difficult job running the colony only 21 years after the first convicts were landed.

 

 

Lachlan Macquarie

 

I have started pricking out the first chitted seeds once the compost had thawed. On the allotment virtually all the winter brassicas have been wiped out so I had the indignity of buying a cabbage for Just Vegetating next Monday. I did manage to harvest parsnips and leeks which have survived reasonably well.

I watched Over Res 0 v 1 Cottenham 1^st yesterday, Over are a young team and played well only to loose to a silly penalty. Meanwhile Kate attended a Dementia training day at Warboys led by a lady doctor who has suffered with the disease for 12 years.

The Cambridge News topic this week was “Puddles” and I had two published – both from Over Fen.

 

 

After Sugar Beet

 

 

Cattle Paddling

 

Love

Mike & Kate

 

22nd January 2023

 

Dear All,

We started another session of “Just Vegetating” on Monday. The kitchen at the Friends Meeting House has been stripped and renovated so is now very smart. The new group seem lively with a record number of questions, which is always encouraging. Week 1 is always “Carrots and Parsnips” and Kate produced Carrot Marmalade, Parsnips in Miso and Carrot cakes.

On Tuesday, we visited Oakington Garden Centre to buy seed potatoes and Kate stocked up with flower seeds. In the afternoon I set up the seed propagator in the greenhouse, started the germination tests for a few seed samples and sowed more Broad beans which have succumbed to Muntjac and frost. There was a church business meeting in the evening and Kate was re-elected as a Deacon.

It was Over Garden Club Wednesday evening with a speaker on “Raking up the Past” covering old implements and structures.

Thursdays walk was a great improvement on the previous week as the frost meant that it was much firmer underfoot and the sun shone for much of the time. We started at Wrestlingworth near Potton and took in Eyeworth, Guilden Morden and Tadlow.

 

 

Chilly sheep near Wrestlingworth

 

 

Near Eyeworth

 

 

Hook Mill near Guilden Morden

 

 

Old Mill near Guilden Morden

 

We have had a troublesome car tyre this week as it slowly lost pressure but when I took it to Kwik Fit, they couldn’t find a leak - so it remains one of life’s mysteries,

 

We had a double header at Biographies this week: Nansen the explorer and Eddington after whom the new development near NIAB has been named.

Nansen learnt to ski aged 3 and had a yen for polar exploration. He led the first crossing of the Greenland icecap and got to latitude 87°N trying to reach the North Pole. He became an ambassador, member of the League of Nations, negotiated Norway achieving separation from Sweden and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.

 

 

Fridtjof Nansen

Arthur Eddington was a Physicist, Astronomer, Ambassador for Science and Quaker. He initially worked in the Greenwich Observatory then made Prof. of Astronomy at Cambridge aged 31.in 1914. He was then under great pressure to enlist for WWI but as a pacifist resisted and the University made a case that his work was vital for the country. He wrote 13 books, never married carried out numerous lecture tours explaining the stars and Einstein’s theory of relativity. He attended Quaker meetings in the very room that we were holding the lecture and was belatedly knighted.

 

 

Sir Arthur Eddington

 

The Cambridge News photo feature was Winter Sunshine and I contributed a view from Ramsau, Austria which Graham & Mary might recall?

 

 

Ramsau, Austria.

 

All local football was off yesterday due to frozen ground except for those with access to all weather pitches. We managed to catch a game at Comberton 2 v 5 Cambridge University Press, carefully wrapped in Long John’s and extra socks!

 

Love

Mike & Kate

 

15th January 2023

 

Dear All,

I started the week with “Man flu” and spent 2-3 days with a steadily dripping nose but fortunately it did not develop into a severe cough or sore throat. I skipped swimming but Kate went with Merv. It was not ideal that I had a Garden Club talk at Downham Market on Monday night but it was difficult to cancel so I turned up and it was not too bad and a decent crowd.

We attended an ex NIAB employees’ lunch at Girton Golf Club on Tuesday – a chance to catch up on every one’s ailments! My old boss Bill Chowings attended from near Watton in Norfolk so we were very pleased to catch up with him.

Norman Ingle came for lunch again on Wednesday and we were hosting the Church group in the afternoon as the usual hosts, the Kitson’s were due to attend a funeral in Newcastle. As it turned out they were not fit enough to travel. In the afternoon there was a Zoom session of U3A Biographies presented by an elderly member who has not been able to attend the class for a year after a heart problem. His topic was D.H. Lawrence of controversial reputation banned in his lifetime and after for pornography but defended by others who considered him the best novelist of his generation. He eloped with one of his tutor’s wives who was German so he had difficulties in WWI as well.

 

 

D.H.Lawrence

 

Our Thursday walk was really hard going due to heavy over night rain which created soft muddy conditions underfoot. I think most people found it tough going but after a few days under the weather I was rather fatigued to say the least! We started at Brinkley south of Newmarket and took in Willingham Green, Carlton and Burrough Green. The route crossed the upreaches of the River Stour twice.

 

 

River Stour near Carlton

 

 

Carlton church

  

 Burrough Green

 

 

Burrough Green church

The first classroom session of Biographies featured Michael Servetus a Spanish theologian, physician and cartographer. He was the first European to correctly describe the function of pulmonary circulation. He was a protestant who greatly aggravated John Calvin as he published books criticising him and eventually Calvin had him burnt at the stake!

 

 

Michael Servetus

 

Yesterday was the chapel New Year Social, Kate was IC food with Jane Gregory for 42 and I presented the annual review. It is a long evening as we did not get home until nearly 11pm after clearing up but most people seem to appreciate it.

 

 

Kate & Jane in command

 

 

 

Part of the clientele

 

The Christmas jigsaw puzzle has proved a challenge this year as it was started on Christmas eve and has not yet quite completed – but the end is in sight!

 

 

Jigsaw

 

Over lost 1 v 0 to Wisbech yesterday in damp conditions with a very fussy referee who booked half the team and sent the captain to the “Sin Bin” for 10 minutes. And Ipswich conceded in extra time for the 4^th time this season.

 

Love

Mike & Kate

 

8th January 2023

 

Dear All,

I started the week helping Adrian digging his plot as he is still not 100% fit – there again I cannot remember when he was sadly!

Kate and I then spent a couple of days on a short break in North Norfolk. We headed for Snettisham and after coffee had a walk round the public footpaths at Wild Ken Hill of Autumn watch fame. The site was not fully open which might be as well as guided tours start at £25 a head!

 

 

Wild Ken Hill

 

We moved on to Heacham for a look at The Wash at low tide then to Hunstanton to “Sea Life World” which was a welcome indoor session as Hunstanton on a drizzly January day was not too alluring!

 

 

Large Pacu

 

Next stop was Old Hunstanton which although bleak has very attractive cliff formations.

 

 

Old Hunstanton

There was then just time to visit Brancaster Beach before the light faded,

 

 

Brancaster beach

 

We had booked B&B in the Hoste Arms in Burnham Market home of Admiral Nelson – it was easy to see why he spent so long at sea as the house prices would have made his eyes water!

 

 

Burnham Market at night

 

Wednesday was a much brighter day and we headed initially to Holkham beach via the windmill at Burnham Overy Staithe where we had stayed a couple of times organised by the sadly missed Sue Colquhoun. We saw the New Millennium in on the beach at Holkham but there have been significant changes since as the sand dunes have been drastically reduced by the sea and a new restaurant and information centre has been erected.

 

 

The “Lookout” centre, Holkham

 

 

Holkham Beach

Last stop was Blakeney. Seal trips were out of season but we walked a loop of the Norfolk Coast Path to Cley next the Sea. It was clear and sunny but with a lively breeze. Arriving back in Blakeney the church tower was open so we tackled the 136 steps and the views made it all worthwhile.

 

 

Blakeney Quay from the Norfolk Coast Path

 

 

 

Cley next the Sea Windmill

 

View of Blakeney Quay from the church tower

 

 

Back home the Thursday walk started at Nuthampstead taking in Barkway and Reed. It was fine overhead but a little sticky underfoot.

 

 

Nuthampstead War Memorial

 

Nuthampstead was the site of an American Air Force base in WWII and the pub had numerous mementos.

On Friday it was a haircut followed by a ZOOM practice for an 80 year old who is guesting for the Biographies group next week. Over were back in action Saturday afternoon and beat Cherry Hinton 2 v 1 – a good day with both Ipswich and Colchester winning as well!

Love

Mike & Kate