22nd October 2023

 

Dear All,

The first frost of autumn has been followed by some serious rainfall – 76.5 mm in 3 days which left both our garden and Fen End looking rather damp!

  

 

Garden

  

Fen End, Over

 

One of seed company guys from last week’s jaunt to Lincolnshire posted this photo on WhatsApp:

 

 

 Lawrie, Mike & David

 

Adrian continues to struggle with his back but eventually had a scan at Addenbrookes this week, he awaits the result. I have spent a couple of sessions helping him choose a new garden shed. On Monday we travelled to Soham to visit a company which proved to be no longer there then we went on to Witcham and Willingham. He saw something he liked at Witcham but the exact model was on show at Scottsdale’s at Shelford so we went there on Friday afternoon to confirm that this was what he wanted.

On Tuesday I had an ex NIAB employees lunch at Girton Golf Club followed by a Covid booster in the Grafton Centre.

The Burrell family are due to move to Norwich next Tuesday so we entertained Arthur and Grace for probably the last time this week. Rachel’s sister was getting married in Cornwall on Saturday so they have a long journey down there before facing moving on their return. Grace is to be a bridesmaid and Arthur a “Flower Girl” don’t you mean Flower Boy? “No, I am going to be a Flower Girl!”

I had to lead the group meeting on Wednesday on the subject of “The Wisdom of Solomon”. In the evening it was the Garden Club and the committee had changed the topic in their wisdom from “Plants in Hot Dry Conditions” to “Perennials for Cuttings”.

It was another wet Thursday – they never used to happen in the good old days! This time we were at Brent Pelham which is a good distance for us – we left at 8am and did not arrive until 9.20am due to traffic, rain and distance. The rain never developed beyond drizzle but the one cultivated field we had to cross was very sticky going. Highlight was seeing about 20 Red Kites circulating near Clavering doubtless having discovered a corpse of some kind? There were several decent fields of Oil Seed Rape all sown with Buckwheat as a pest prevention.

 

 

Oil Seed Rape & Buckwheat

 

 

Ruttles, Butts Green

 

 

Roast Green

 

 

Red Kites

 

The second session of Biographies was a very interesting presentation of “Sir James Bazalgette” the engineer responsible for relieving the “Great Stink” caused by London’s sewage problems. He was described as “That great farsighted engineer who probably did more good, and saved more lives, than any single Victorian official” He was also responsible for the Embankment, four Thames bridges, six London streets, some London Parks and sewage schemes in several other cities including Cambridge and Budapest The talk was given by Stephen Halliday who studied Bazalgette for his PhD and then wrote a book on him. Last Christmas Melvyn Bragg contacted him to help present a “In Our Time” programme on “The Great Stink”

 

 

Sir Joseph Bazalgette

Esther and Emma are already in residence in Aldeburgh and we plan to join them on Monday. Local football was washed out Saturday so I had to listen to England cricketers being hammered by South Africa,

 

Mike & Kate

 

15th October 2023

 

Dear All,

Major events this week have been a trip to Lincolnshire to visit the Seed Company trials and Friday nights Quiz to raise funds for Over Day Care Centre.

Fellow walkers Lawrie Gray and David Cook accompanied me to Lincolnshire on Wednesday under rather grey skies. We had a serous downpour on the way but once in Lincolnshire we only encountered drizzle at the last stop. In all we visited plots for six seed companies: Seminis, Clause, Hazera, Sakata, Syngenta and Elsom’s. Seminis have the leading Broccoli varieties in Ironman and Steel and “super white” cauliflowers. Clause have excellent Romanesco and Hazera the leading pointed Sweetheart cabbage. Hazera in an Israeli company and they had heard that six of the staff in Israel had been killed in the Hamas attacks. Sakata had a fine display of Squash and always have the most decorative exhibits; Syngenta have the best Brussels Sprouts and Elsom’s the most comprehensive display of a wide range of vegetables. Kate is always delighted when I come home with a fresh range of hats and pens!

 

Seminis Whitex Cauliflower

 

                                          

 Clause Cornelio Romanesco Cauliflower

 

 

Hazera Sweetheart Cabbage

 

 

Sakata Display

 

 

Sakata Pumpkin & Squash

 

 

Syngenta Brussels Sprout Cryptus

 

 

Elsom’s Trial Ground

On Friday night Kate and I presented the annual Quiz which is part of the Baptist chapel’s support for the Day Care Centre. When I say annual, this was actually the 15^th year that it has taken place. Kate thinks up all the questions and I am quizmaster. The major difference this year was the venue. Usually, we have held it in the Day Care Centre but the capacity there is limited to about 60 and last year several teams were turned away. The new venue allowed 127 to book in making up 16 teams. The scale seemed a little daunting to start with but it actually worked very well and the event raised over £1000.

The U3A term started again this week and Biographies kicked off with a presentation on “The Virgin Mary” by Jim Henry our Australian non believing historian, so he produced a talk which The Friends Meeting House (our venue) had probably never heard before!

I have had several good digging sessions this week and have broken the back of both the allotment and garden cultivations.

We have had a rather damp week with 12 mm, 12,5 mm and 26 mm of rain on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We arrived at our Thursday walk destination Brinkley in an absolute deluge which discouraged anyone getting out of their vehicles for half an hour. It was then decided to give folk the option of a shorter walk or going home. Seven faint hearts departed leaving 15 hardy souls to complete a not very short walk of 7.25 miles. It actually stopped raining after an hour or so but walking in waterproofs tends to leave you fairly damp from sweating.

 

 

Gathering at Brinkley

 

 

 Damp road near Weston Colville

 

Emma had a nasty experience on Wednesday when a tractor towing a heavy load of bales parted company with the trailer and it rolled back into a small car which was pushed back into Emma’s car. Both car drivers had to go the A & E for whiplash and shock. Meanwhile the tractor driver ran away from the scene but was apprehended by the police later.

On Saturday we had a Men’s Breakfast at chapel and the speaker was our retired doctor Larry Amure. He is of Nigerian stock and had a tough upbringing but he made it to Cambridge University and gained a blue for boxing. He is a larger-than-life character and over 30 attended.

In the afternoon Over new young football squad beat Milton 7 v 0.

 

Mike & Kate

 

8th October 2023

 

Dear All,

It has been a fairly busy week which I started with a swim plus Merv but not Kate who was nursing a cold.  I then cut the cricket square in preparation for winter maintenance, followed by beginning to dig in mustard as green manure. In the evening we had a CEEM meeting in Willingham but I had to fetch Philip from St Neots as his usual lift was not free. We had a decent meeting deciding how to spend £5,600 Gift Aid money which Gordon our new treasurer has efficiently reclaimed. Fortunately, Gordon volunteered for the return journey to St Neots.

On Tuesday I wrote up the minutes of the CEEM meeting before the serious pitch winter work: scarifying, aerating, reseeding, fertilising and adding loam top dressing. We managed a good gang of five this year which made it much easier. In the afternoon I planted the over-wintered alliums: garlic, onions and shallots and erected barricades against neighbourhood cats who want to use the land for toilet purposes!

 

 

Pitch Maintenance

 

I had been phoning and emailing the Moldovan Embassy to try and sort out ways of getting seed into the country and I actually managed to speak to a lady who was very helpful.

I spent most of Wednesday helping Adrian with his garden as he has a bad back. Kate and I dug his potatoes in the morning then in the afternoon after church groups I dug enough land to plant his onions and garlic.

Thursday’s walk this week started at Nuthampstead and took in Barkway and Reed. There was a decent turnout of 32 in the two groups and reasonably easy walking. Nuthampstead was the site of an American airbase in the war and there are memorials inside and outside the pub. We also came across a fine set of Charolais cattle.

 

 

American War Memorial

 

 

Near Nuthampstead

 

 

Papa Charolais

 

 

His Family

 

 

In the evening we had an Over Produce Show committee meeting with the usual 20 item agenda from our very efficient secretary!

Friday went: Tesco’s, Haircut, digging here, digging the allotment so did not need rocking to sleep! Followed by the family Zoom, Albert advised me not to have any more haircuts as I have so little to spare!

On Saturday I accompanied a couple of our walking colleagues to the Cottenham Ploughing match. It is one of the oldest Ploughing Societies in the country and very well supported with 55 entries and a high standard of ploughing.

 

 

Popular Grey Fergie

 

 

David Brown

 

 

Straight Furrows

 

 

Nearly Finished

In the afternoon I watched Over 5 v 2 March Res then in the evening it was the Cricket end of season dinner and awards. John and I got a package of beer for our work on the wicket.

Kate has been busy with a paint brush this week touching up the garage door and Patio door surround. She has also been tidying up flower beds here and at the allotment as well as entertaining the usual suspects: Arthur, Grace, Rachel, Nathan, Lorna, Janet and Norman Ingle as well as a visit from Sue Whitfield to tell us about Tony Bridgeman’s demise.

 

Mike & Kate

 

1^st October 2023

 

Dear All,

The week started with rather a chilly swim as the pump had broken down again but it wasn’t too bad once you were in and flailing! I had a rather nasty computer hack this week which started sending rude messages to a Zoom session I was on.

It was the start of autumn clearing in the garden shredding sweet corn stover and Jerusalem Artichokes which reached 10ft. I then started winter digging and planted Elephant Garlic.

On Wednesday I accompanied three walking colleagues to Northampton to catch the last cricket match of the season. It was not great cricket weather being damp and windy and Essex did not perform well eventually losing by an innings.

 

 

Essex Fielding

 

 

Rob, Mike, Lawrie & Ian

 

Our Thursday walk was fairly local starting at Horningsea and walking along the River Cam to Clayhithe and back along the Fen Rivers Way. It was a bit breezy but otherwise conditions were good.

 

 

Bridge over the Cam at Bate’s Bite Lock

 

 

Cam Boats

 

 

Cone laden Fir Tree

 

On Friday included Tesco’s, Oakington Garden Centre then St Ives for a Flu jab.

It was Gransden Show on Saturday. It is a huge effort for a one-day show but thankfully the weather was kind. It is an old fashion show with plenty of animals, some machinery old and new, a produce competition and loads of craft and food stalls. Besides this we always bump into former colleagues and acquaintances. One of the highlights this year was a “Sheep Show” on and open sided lorry with built up steps. The MC was a master showman and brought out different breeds of sheep one by one and told stories about them and ended with a shearing demonstration.

 

 

 Sheep Show

 

 

Lincolnshire Longwool

 

 

Pig Judging

 

 

Clydesdale heavy Horse

 

 

First Prize Fruit Collection

 

 

First Prize Vegetable Collection

 

I got back in time to see Over Res 3 v 0 Fordham!

 

Mike & Kate