15th February 2026

 

           Dear All,

After swimming “Just Vegetating” this week was “Salads – Fruit: Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers & Aubergines. Kate produced Roasted stuffed peppers, Aubergine bake and Tomato with chick peas.

I had a blood test on Tuesday – 4 syringe full checking about 12 items! The results came back as severe shortage of Vitamin D and I was prescribed 4 tablets a day for 3 months. I am not convinced that a vitamin shortage explains how I have felt but we will see.

We had an ex NIAB employees lunch at Girton Golf club Tuesday lunch time where the standard of food has improved with the advent of an Italian chef.

I have sown Celeriac, Herbs and planted Ginger this week.

A couple of the seed bulks donated by Tozer’s are too large to send to Moldova so I have offered them to Over Garden Club. Chairman Richard Cox came round to discuss how best to use them.

Ben revealed on the family Zoom that he has run on 53 consecutive days – anyone want to better that?

On Thursday it was my turn to head up the Travel Writers Book Club and my choice this month was “Eight Feet in the Andes” by Dervla Murphy describing a 3 month walk down the Inca Way with her 9 year old daughter and a mule. It was another tale when you are not sure how they survived! Dervla’s most famous trip was cycling single handed from Ireland to India

 

 

Dervla Murphy & Daughter

 

Kate made some biscuits using a Peruvian recipe based on Maize meal. Kate came into Cambridge with me shopping for a warm woolly for Moldova.

The Biography subject this week was Bert Trautman the German goalkeeper who played 60 minutes of a Cup Final with a broken neck. He has in the Hitler Youth and had a checked war eventually being captured and sent to England where he was amazed at his treatment and stayed on after the war.

 

 

Bert Trautman

 

In the evening we hosted a meal and committee meeting for Moldova Matters mainly planning details for our forthcoming visit.

 

 

Thelwell comment on the Weather

 

We were relieved when the courier picked up the parcels for Moldova on Saturday evening: 5 parcels, 46 Kg, £70. Just hope they arrive safely.

 

Best Wishes

 

Mike & Kate

 

8th February 2026

 

           Dear All,

After swimming “Just Vegetating” this week was “Salads – Roots, Shoots & Leaves” and Kate produced: Braised Celery with cheese and onion sauce, Vegan chocolate and beetroot cakes and All tine favourite salad with carrot, cucumber, radish tomato and greenery.

In the afternoon we collected a pane of glass for the greenhouse from Cottenham. The first company quoted £70 but the second £15.

Mary & Graham visited on Tuesday with some craft beads for Moldova and plates for Esther to transform for Christmas. David and Ian were due to come as well but David called off with a cold. We had a very good lunch at the Community Centre.

I managed to flick off a tooth cap while flossing and a 10 minute session having it stuck back on cost £70.

Kate joined the U3A walk on Thursday at Little Downham where they encountered a fair share of mud. I again did a shorter local walk round the village.

 

 

Ex Apple Farmers house

 

 

Road Hazard Winnebago

 

 

Station Road cottage

 

 

McLeod Sculpture in churchyard

 

 

Hardinge Statue

 

 

Snowdrops

 

We were not able to hold the Biographies session in the usual Friends Meeting House on Friday so had to decamp to the Methodist church on Castle Hill. We were nicely settled in a warm upstairs room when a handicapped latecomer was unable to master the stairs so we had to move to the main chapel downstairs which was unfortunately unheated, so not a very comfortable session.

The subject was Caroline Norton a glamorous Victorian lady who had an unfortunate marriage with a violent husband who took her three sons away from her. She became friendly with the PM Lord Melbourne. Women at the time had few rights and she campaigned for access to her children amongst other rights.

 

 

Caroline Norton

We hosted a Chapel Events committee in the evening hopefully planning monthly events for the year.

I planted a few potatoes in containers in the greenhouse. I am still up and down and had a poor afternoon yesterday so did not attend football.

 

Best Wishes

 

Mike & Kate

 

1^st February 2026

 

           Dear All,

After swimming “Just Vegetating” this week was “Brassicas” and Kate produced: Madhur Jaffrey’s stir fried cabbage and carrot, Swede with honey & herbs and Cauliflower with poppy seeds and coconut cream.

I had another doctor’s appointment on Tuesday and got ticked off for dropping most of my pills but was allowed to continue with the experiment – so far without much improvement.

The cricket club mowers were collected for winter maintenance this week, somewhat later than usual as the engineer forgot.

I have arranged meetings and agendas for both the church Events committee and the Moldova Matters committee this week. I walked round Over Fen on Wednesday and Thursday this week but would have struggled to go much further. Kate joined the U3A walk at Potton on Thursday and for the first time everyone awarded the walk a 1 (=excellent).

 

 

Ouse Fen Bank, Over Fen

 

 

Pygmy Goat eating Christmas Tree

 

 

Iconic Tree

 

 

Stabiliser Bulls

 

This week I have managed to finish collecting gifts and seed for Moldova and packed four boxes ready for dispatch. Mary & Graham are bringing a final contribution next Tuesday. David and Ian are also coming.

 

 

Packing

 

Packed

Our “Biographies” class did not get off to a good start Friday morning as no warden appeared to unlock the Friends Meeting House so 20 or so elderly folks were left shivering on a damp pavement. Eventually somebody did arrive for other business and let us in – but no official warden arrived.

The subject this week was Eleanor Roosevelt. She was the longest-serving first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms as president from 1933 to 1945. Through her travels, public engagement, and advocacy, she largely redefined the role. Widowed in 1945, she served as a United States delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from 1945 to 1952, and took a leading role in designing the text and gaining international support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1948, she was given a standing ovation by the assembly upon their adoption of the declaration. President Harry S. Truman called her the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements.

 

 

Eleanor Roosevelt

 

Family have been travelling this week – Albert had 2 nights away on a muddy outdoor activities course and evidently arrived home happy and muddy.

 

 

Albert the Adventurer!

 

Albert the Birdman!

 

Meanwhile Esther and Emma are joining a cruise up the coast of Norway beyond the Arctic Circle.

 

 

Route

 

Ben has purchased a new bike under a Government “Ride to work scheme” and got £1000 off so it was not cheap!

 

 

New Bike

 

Over won again yesterday beating Soham Town Res. 3 v 0.

 

Mike & Kate

 

25^th January 2026

 

           Dear All,

A month since Christmas already! We started the week with the usual swim/Just Vegetating sandwich, the JV subject this week was “Alliums” and Kate prepared Chestnut & Shallot Tarte Tatin, Creamy baked leeks in cheese and Tomato, Strawberry and red onion salad. So far so good they seem a lively class with plenty of questions. Kate had a busy day as after she attended the U3A Book group this month discussing “The Franchise Affair” by Josephine Tey.

Kate joined the Tuesday U3A walk at Stretham this week, I was still not up to it so did my own stroll round Over Fen spotting deer for the 3^rd week running.

 

 

Fen as in Hereward the Wake’s day

 

 

Off Middle Way

 

 

Beachwood House, Fen End (formerly Althea’s home)

 

In the evening I attended the Local History group who had an entertaining talk about Darwin when he was in Cambridge.

On Wednesday Kate helped me sort and list the Flower seed donated by Fothergill’s for Moldova and we totalled 674 packets to go with the 882 vegetables and 137 herbs. We just hope they arrive safely!

Later it was the local Garden Club which had a record attendance for a talk on “Bulbs, Corms & Tubers” by a man who knew what he was talking about but went on far too long with rather poor photos.

Kate and I went to St Ives on Thursday to buy presents for Moldova. In the afternoon we had yet another visit associated with the solar panels as the Government is changing the level of support and this is a good excuse for companies to try and get involved. I was not in a good mood as I was trying to get a “Proof of Identity” on-line via the Government web site as this is a new requirement for company directors and I am a Director of CEEM/Moldova Matters. I failed to register so had to do it via the Post Office in Cambridge on Friday.

The “Biography” topic on Friday was unusual as he was still alive. Anthony Ray Hilton was wrongly convicted of two murders in Alabama and sentenced to the death penalty. He was on Death Row for 28 years before being retried and found not guilty. The officer who arrested him told him ““You know, I don’t care whether you did or didn’t do it. In fact I believe you didn’t do it. But it doesn’t matter. If you didn’t do it, one of your brothers did. And you’re going to take the rap. I’ll give you five reasons why they are going to convict you. Number one, you’re black, Number two, a white man gonna say you shot him. Number three, you’re gonna have a white district attorney, Number four, you’re gonna have a white judge, Number 5 you’re gonna have an all-white jury.

You know what that spells? Conviction, Conviction, Conviction, Conviction, Conviction.”

 

 

Anthony Ray Hilton

In the afternoon Kate and I went to Berrycroft Stores and Oakington Garden Centre to stock up on compost.

Both Over teams won 2v1 on Saturday.

 

Mike & Kate