6^th August 2023

 

Dear All,

Were we really praying for rain a few weeks ago? Well, the answer is 65mm rain in July and 40mm rain in the first 5 days of August so far - with apparently power to add!

This week has been dominated by the Over Produce Show as apart from harvesting, polishing and preparing my entries I am also on the organising committee so we had to be at the Community Centre Thursday night to receive and catalogue the entries, on Friday we prepared the hall erecting tables etc then most of Saturday was taken up with the show.

This year the vegetable entries were up, flowers held their own but pot plants, cooking children’s entries and photos were all down. However, it was a successful show and the standard of vegetable entries was high. Kate was persuaded to put a couple of flower entries for the first time and achieved one first prize. I didn’t do well on the staple potato, onion, beetroot, tomato classes but rallied with aubergine, marrow, sweet corn, lettuce (unjustly!) and collection firsts plus rhubarb, a photo and bread. I was 2^nd in the veg, photos and overall but way behind the usual winner. Attendance was good maybe because of the continual rain outside?

 

 

Show Spectators

 

 

Part of the Veg Bench

 

 

My Collection

 

 

Rhubarb

 

 

Cut Flowers (Kate’s to the right of the Gladioli)

 

We had a rare outing to Cambridge on Monday summoned by Nationwide to prove my identity, despite the fact that I have had a savings ISA with them for some time.

The second outing of the week was to Coton Garden Centre as Kate wanted something new to wear at the impending gathering for her sister’s 50^th wedding anniversary. We also purchased a few more tropical fish and green manure seed.

 

 

Tropical tank

 

Following Ben’s photos of his latest cycling outing we decided to book a holiday in Georgia next month (the country not the state!). We hope this is not next on Putin’s shopping list!

Our Thursday walk this week started at Guilden Morden and took in Steeple Morden Litlington and Abington Pigotts. It stayed dry – a rarity for this week, and there was a good turnout. Crops were putting up with the weather quite well and we stopped in Guilden Morden church which has a very old and unusual double rood screen.

 

 

Kate airborne!

 

 

Crossing a Wheat field

 

 

Gatehouse to Morden Hall

 

 

Double Rood Screen

 

Ben should be back from Georgia and Armenia today and Mary-Ann, Andy and family are in Lanzarote.

The local football season kicked off with the usual preseason Ken Garner tournament between four local sides: Over Reserves, Willingham, Milton and Longstanton. Over eventually won the final on penalties in front of a crowd that would do justice to many nonleague teams.

Love

 

Mike & Kate