31st August 2025

 

           Dear All,

It is the last week of the local cricket season and although Over have finished their home games our president generously rented out our pitch to Ely which meant one more strip to prepare in challenging conditions. Football has already begun and Over beat Comberton 4 v 0 on Tuesday evening despite losing 2 of last year’s team to teams in higher divisions and 5 v 0 against Whitchford on Saturday.

I tried rotovating some of the garden in preparation for autumn planting but it was very hard and digging was even worse.

On Monday evening Kate’s sister Sue and husband John came for dinner, they were staying at Mepal for a couple of days and exploring Ely, Cambridge and Anglesey Abbey.

We walked on Tuesday this week as it was fairly local at Houghton rather than the Thursday walk at Withersfield near Haverill. It was a familiar walk taking in the two Hemimgfords and St Ives. The camp site at Houghton Mill was heaving with a vast array of water sports in the river.

 

 

Houghton

 

 

Houghton Pump

 

Houghton Mill

 

 

Hemingford Grey

 

 

 

Hemingford Manor

 

 

Houghton Mill & Water Sports

 

Kate has been busy preparing for the annual quiz in aid of the Day Care centre. It is not until October but it is more relaxing to get it ready early.

One of the water butts at the allotment has been suffering from a blocked tap so while the water level was low we emptied it out and removed the tap which was easy – getting back was more difficult and it involved cutting the plastic top away so that Kate could enter the barrel and hold the washer while the tap was screwed back on. Unfortunately I do not have a photo of this dignified procedure so a cartoon of the barrel in which a lady went over the Niagara Falls will have to do!

 

 

Kate in Barrel!

I sowed Spring Cabbage this week as the first phase of autumn sowing and planted out the last lot of Lettuce.

 

 

 

Best wishes

 

Mike & Kate

 

24th August 2025

 

           Dear All,

 

Last Sunday the Chapel Picnic seemed to go very well with over 40 attending at the Manderson Fishing Lakes. The weather was good and John Lane organised fishing for the children.

 

 

Picnic Gathering

 

 

Fishermen

 

 

Anything they can do!

 

Swimming was crowded again this week but you usually feel better afterwards.

Kate and I went blackberrying this week and there is an excellent crop, we collected over 4lbs in an hour.

 

 

Blackberry Crop

 

Another crop that has performed well is Melons, we have 4/5 like this:

 

Cantaloupe Melon

 

The Russell’s have been in North Wales this week and managed to conquer Snowden so were justly proud.

 

Summit Party

 

Our Thursday walk this week started at Soham and looped round to Wicken. Soham is surrounded by large areas of common land which was inhabited by numerous travellers’ type ponies. At Wicken we saw the Polish Konik ponies which seem to have been very fertile with about 100 in view.

 

 

Friendly Foal

 

 

Konik Ponies

 

 

 

Wicken Mill

Saturday lunchtime we had a major surprise when Kate answered a knock at the door and a guy was standing there saying “Do you remember me?” It was a New Zealander we had not seen for 40 years called Derek Mackay with his wife Tenise .In 1986, Kate was picking fruit while the children were small and these two NZ lads called Derek & Lockie arrived to help pick and were sleeping rough so we took them in. They were hoping to break into the Speedway world as Derek’s father was a major rider for NZ. We had lost contact but Derek was so pleased to see us and grateful for the hospitality. He remembered so much so clearly about the children, the food, and games of table tennis etc. It was really great to see them. They are over for 3 weeks taking in the Women’s Rugby World Cup and a trip to Scotland. And we have a welcome in NZ any time we choose to go!

Over had a massif victory yesterday scoring 284-2 while the opposition made 101. The outfield is suffering in the drought and 10 year old drainage channels are sinking so the game was nearly called off.

 

Best wishes

 

Mike & Kate

 

17th August 2025

 

           Dear All,

Another week without rain, it is amazing how well some things have cropped. Tomatoes and Cucumbers have been exceptional as they are watered in the greenhouse but French Beans and recently Runner Beans have produced well and Figs have been outstanding with about 70 harvested so far.

After our crowded swim on Monday it was too hot to work outside so I worked on my Biographies talk for this year on Capability Brown.

Our privacy loving neighbours planted a hornbeam hedge a few years ago then husband departed and they have struggled to contain it and it grew to 8 feet which has had a serious effect on our garden. This year mother and daughter decided to reduce it but the trunks had grown too thick for them to handle so they trimmed what they could then left stumps hoping to find someone to finish the job. After a couple of weeks I decided to get out my chain saw and have a go. Initially my chainsaw was too blunt but after ordering a new chain it was an easy job to finish with Kate hanging on to the step ladder.

 

 

Hedge Pre-trimming

 

 

Post Trimming

 

Our Thursday walk started at La Pergola an Italian restaurant and pub at Harlton and took in Great and Little Eversden. Fortunately it was not as hot as previous days but still warm enough. It is incredible that by the second week of August harvest seems complete with no sign of any standing crops and most fields cleared of straw as well. Some of the lanes were littered with fallen leaves like a premature autumn and there was a remarkable white horse decorated with love hearts and messages so I guess there was a story to tell?        

 

 

Ascent from Little Eversdan

 

 

Post-Harvest fields

 

 

Pre-mature Autumn Leaves

 

 

Little Eversden Blue house

 

 

Serious Cracking

 

 

Decorated Horse

 

 

Path above Harlton

 

 

Bale Collection

 

We have a chapel picnic arranged for Sunday afternoon and so far about 40 have signed in so there has been a certain amount of preparation and shopping during the week.

On Friday it was funeral time again this time for Tony Hewitt who was Elsom Seeds vegetable manager, so I knew him from that and also we travelled down to Wisley together when we served on the RHS Vegetable Panel. The funeral was at Surfleet Crematorium, just north of Spalding and the reception afterwards was in the old Spalding Courthouse.

 

 

Spalding Old Courthouse

 

 

Interior

Best wishes

Mike & Kate

 

10th August 2025

 

           Dear All,

 

Highlight this week has undoubtedly been the visit of Esther, Emma, Amelie & Albert. They arrived Sunday evening and were only here until Tuesday evening but they packed quite a lot in. The weather was not promising on Monday so we were home based. Albert helped return the show boards to Rampton then helped pick Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, Runner and French Beans, Courgettes and Raspberries. After we planted lettuce and resowed them. We then invented a new game on the Green involving the Zip Line and a football. Meanwhile Amelie was finishing off the drawings for a cartoon book which is fantastic and could easily be taken for a professional job.

 

 

Albert Zipping

 

 

Amelie Composing

 

On Tuesday we took the Guided Bus to Cambridge starting at Weatherspoon’s for lunch then off to the river for a punting session. Hiring a boat and a punter has risen to £250 for an hour! So we did our own thing which was an adventure as it is about 40 years since I last punted and the river was very busy.

 

 

Punting Adventure!

 

 

Better

 

 

Alright for Some!

 

 

Amelie, Albert, Mike, Kate, Esther & Emma at the Allotment

 

The official Thursday walk was from Thaxted which is an hour away for us so we did a local recce round the ever changing scene at Northstowe. We discovered the allotments, sports facilities and the new scenic lakes. After we planned to look at the historic features in Willingham church but it was locked up so we retired to the new café opposite which I christened spectacularly by knocking my Latte over the table, wall and floor!

 

 

Northstowe New Community Centre

 

 

Northstowe Little Boxes!

 

 

Northstowe Lakes

 

My craft activity this week was painting the garden table green to match the seat.

 

 

While Kate has turned some of our excess Tomato crop into soup.

 

 

Tomato Soup

 

Saturday evening we were invited to join a vast gathering at Over Community Centre to celebrate Peter and Carol Smith’s 50^th Wedding Anniversary. Peter was cricket captain, rugby coach and school teacher so knew many people and most of them turned up for the celebration. I met several folk that I had not seen for 20 years or more.

 

Best wishes

Mike & Kate