Sunday, 17 March 2024

 

17th March 2024

 

Dear All,

Following Monday’s swim, Just Vegetating was Minor crop’s part 2 including Globe and Jerusalem Artichokes and Cardoons. Kate prepared Pumpkin, Sage and Barley bake, Jerusalem Artichoke dauphinoise and stuffed aubergines. One week to go! I managed to plant onions and shallots and sow carrots on the raised bed.

In the evening it was the annual chapel 10 -Pin Bowling evening at Pidley. It was well attended again with 35 dining and 28 bowling. For once Gordon didn’t win but claims he should have done on count back! I performed very modestly leaving 1 or 2 standing 16 out of 20 goes.

 

 


Pre-Contest Meal

 


Mervyn – Poetry in Motion.

 French History on Tuesday covered 1871 to the end of the First World War in 1918 during which France lost 27% of men of fighting age. The session was entitled “Belle Epoque and the Great War as the end of the century was a prosperous time with the building of the Eifel Tower, Lumiere films and scientists like Louis Pasteur.

 


 

La Belle Epoque

 

 


The Great War

 

Our lawn appears to have come through the wet winter with about 50% moss so I went to Berrycroft stores to purchase some Lawn Sand but they no longer stock it instead they have a special lawn fertiliser which is supposed to kill weeds and moss. I have applied it and await results.

Our Thursday walk this week started at Barrow half way between Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds. The A14 had been seriously flooded in previous days but was thankfully open although there was plenty of evidence of tankers and pipelines. The conditions this week were kinder that several recent outings with some sunshine and less mud but what mud there was had a special stickiness as though mixed with glue!

 


 

Barrow Old Clock Tower

 

 


Lest we Forget!

 


 

Wilsummer Wood

 


 

Barrow Village Pond

 

The Biographies subject this week was Dame Freya Stark she was a British-Italian explorer and travel writer. She wrote more than two dozen books on her travels in the Middle East and Afghanistan as well as several autobiographical works and essays. She had a terrible accident as a teenager when her long hair got caught in a carpet loom and yanked part of her hair and scalp away so she always wore a hat thereafter, her most famous book was “The Valleys of the Assassins” about travelling alone in Iran.

 


Freya Stark

 

We held a CEEM meal and meeting Friday evening to progress the sending of the Firemen’s uniforms and seed to Moldova and try and set date for this year’s visit, it looks as though Geoff Pake and I will go on 2nd to 9th May but it is not finally booked yet.

The speaker for next Wednesday’s Over Garden Club meeting dropped out this week so I have been asked to substitute.     

Saturday morning, I planted peas from gutters and Beetroot from modules so although the land is still very wet there is some progress on the drier areas.

The big match yesterday was Shelford (top) v Over (3rd), Unfortunately Shelford won an even contest 3 v 0 but Over are a very young team so will hopefully learn from the experience.

Last night a group of us were in the Church Hall for "Would I Lie to You?". I t was quite entertaining but went on a little too long!

The Magnolia trees have been at their best this week but are already beginning to fade.

 

 


 


Magnolia

 

 

Regards

 

Mike & Kate

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