5^th March 2023

 

Dear All,

It is often claimed (at least by me!) that all the best people were born in March. This weekend we are celebrating two birthdays, Dave my football watching colleague and Merv our chapel and swimming mate share birthdays on Monday, Dave is 80 and had a party at his daughter’s house in Bar Hill last night and Mervyn will be a spritely 82 and we are invited to a lunchtime celebration today. Talk about life in the fast lane!

After swimming on Monday “Just Vegetating” featured Potatoes this week. Kate’s offerings were: Curates pudding, Bombay potatoes, pan fried hash browns.

In the evening we held a Zoom session which included Andrei from Moldova to discuss our impending visit. Folk there seem reasonably calm but obviously wishing for an end to the war in Ukraine.

Ever since our helpful neighbour planted an 8-foot hedge growing conditions on that edge of the garden have suffered, so we are planning a raised bed to try and overcome some of the problems. We ordered the wood from a recycling woodyard in Cottenham on Tuesday, it was delivered on Wednesday and it has now had one coat of preservative. We visited Oakington garden Centre on Tuesday for onion and shallot sets and a few flower plants and found some Lady Christl potatoes – my favourite early variety, which have been missing for a couple of years.

 

 

Onions & Shallots

 

I planted peas from gutters on Wednesday and reseeded but our friendly neighbourhood muntjac revisited and trashed my first planting of Broad beans so a barricade has now been erected on the next planting.

 

 

Muntjac Barricade

 

On Wednesday evening I had a Garden Club talk at Little Paxton and Kate accompanied me to share the driving.

Thursday’s walk started at Little Walden near Saffron Walden and circled round Church End and the Harcamlow Way. It was amazingly dry underfoot, I only recorded 8.5mm rain during the whole of February. The pub at Little Walden is very good for food – we enjoyed the best walkers Christmas meal there a few years back.

 

 

Mitchells near Little Walden

 

 

Bowsers near Church End

 

 

Break

 

 

Ancient Wagon

 

“Biographies” this week featured “Vincent van Gogh” delivered by our resident Dutchman who was reared near the painter’s birthplace. Van Gogh was a troubled soul who spent his youth working in bookshops and school teaching and having failed romantic relationships. He did not take up painting until his mid-twenties. He was supported financially by a younger brother who he repaid with paintings – he never sold a painting in his lifetime and left his brother 200. He had a nervous breakdown and was in a Psychiatric clinic for a while, became friends with Gauguin and cut off his ear when the friendship finished. He eventually shot himself aged 37. There is a fantastic virtual gallery on line where you can view all his paintings: http://www.vggallery.com/index.html

 

 

Vincent van Gogh

 

Over lost 2 v 1 yesterday to Wisbech St Mary, not helped by losing their centre half in the first minute following a clash of heads which caused his eye to swell dramatically and he ended up in A&E.

Love

Mike & Kate