26th April 2009

26th April 2009.

Dear All,

Derbyshire went well as the Smith side of the family gathered to celebrate Phil’s 50th birthday. He was keen not to have much fuss but sister Sue decided otherwise so it was taken out of his hands. Kate, Esther, Mary-Ann and I joined Phil, Mandy, Natasha, Bill, Sue, James, Helen, James (another) and Emma for a Saturday lunchtime meal at Darley Dale near Matlock. Our family then booked into a B&B at Ambergate and did a walk via Crich and the Cromford canal before driving to Bolehill for a tea and film show. Sunday am the four of us did a sunny walk along the Derwent Valley walking to High Tor and back via the Heights of Abraham. The Sunday bikers ranks have swollen in Matlock Bath with the road lined for 2 miles by ageing motor cyclists admiring each others machines.



Cromford Canal



Derwent Valley

I have had two RHS meetings this week, on Monday at Vincent Square and Wednesday at Wisley. RHS used to be one place I went where they neither talked about money or changing – now both are very much on the agenda.
The U3A walk this week was round the Pelhams starting at Brent Pelham and was completed in full sunshine. It was a very pretty walk with new vegetation, bluebells and hills!



Furneaux Pelham



Brent Pelham

Yesterday I organised a chapel visit to Cambridge Botanic gardens. We were shown round by Judy Fox who I have been working with for the Schools project. Again the weather behaved, 28 folk turned up, and it seemed to go quite well.



Cambridge Botanic Gardens






Jade Vine

Ben has been up today in a fruitless attempt to cheer Cambridge Utd to victory in the Championship decider, never mind they have the play offs to look forward to now.
Roy Keane – what a manager 100% record! Doesn’t seem to be the usual Ipswich type, far too rude and aggressive.
I have been to St Neots this afternoon for a Moldova report back and Missionary Prayer meeting. All three trips were presenting and all were fairly positive although events since the elections have made the locals rather apprehensive.

Love


Mike & Kate

12th April 2009.

Dear All,

Happy Easter to all readers, it was a bit gloomy at the “Sunrise Service” at 6 am this morning but at least not snowing like last year.
My old boss, Tom Webster is currently down from Scotland and came to dinner with his hosts Jock and Molly on Friday. He is still keeping remarkably well for 84 and although he does not go out with the Oban Mountaineering Club so regularly he still celebrates his birthday on top of the Cobbler each year.
We have signed up for the U3A Ramblers week in the Yorkshire Dales in June, so I went to the briefing session on Thursday. As you would expect from our ex Lieutenant Colonel leader it was presented on military lines will little left to chance! We are staying at Malham and doing 5 walks including a couple we have done before at Bolton Abbey and Buckden
Our ramble this week was our first instalment of the Icknield Way from Ivinghoe Beacon to Wingfield. The visibility was not as clear as you would like from the top of the Downs but it was still a good walk. The plan is to get to Thetford in 11 sections but not one after the other.



view from Downs

The Plough, Wingfield

Plenty of gardening this week planting out cabbage, cauliflowers and lettuce. Sowing calabrese, French beans, beetroot, peas, water melons and corn salad and pricking out flower seeds. Sowing and planting are the easy bits these days, the hard work is keeping all the pests at bay especially pigeons which are getting bigger and bolder.
I spoke at another Garden Club, this time at Kedington near Haverhill – a friendly bunch with plenty of questions.
I borrowed Ray’s season tickets for Cambridge Utd yesterday and took Adrian to watch them play Eastbourne. Cambridge won but did not play like a team 2nd in the league.
I finished “Eight Feet in the Andes” by Dervla Murphy this week. If you like travel books I can recommend it. She must be a tough old bird; she walked 1,200 miles through the Andes to Cuzco following the Conquistador’s route with her 9 year old daughter and a mule.
As it is Kate’s brothers 50th birthday next weekend we are due to be in Derbyshire joining/organising? celebrations.
The magnolias in the 3 neighbouring Willingham Road gardens have looked splendid this year escaping frost and wind damage.



Magnolias

Sunrise service

Love


Mike & Kate

5th April 2009.

Dear All,

Kate had the day off on Monday so we visited Ickworth House, a National Trust property near Bury St Edmunds. It was the ancestral seat of the Hervey family (as in Lady Victoria Hervey – socialite and reality TV contestant) The house has a distinctive central Rotunda and was built in 18th century by the prince-bishop Frederick Augustus Hervey, fourth earl of Bristol. It is interesting to compare the wording on a column in the grounds, which makes him out to be a saint with NT poster inside which more realistically describes him as a freethinking womaniser and gambler. All the generations between Frederick and now, seem to have enjoyed exotic lifestyles until Lady Victoria’s father, the seventh marquess, dissipated a fortune on drugs, fast cars and rent boys, leading to an early death, and the sale of Ickworth to the National Trust.



Ickworth Rotunda



Recent additions

There are numerous walks in the grounds and we chose the perimeter route which is 7 miles. It was peak lambing season with new born popping out all over the place. The house is reasonably interesting as the earl was an art collector and several paintings have survived the family’s declining fortunes. The gardens, however, were dull as they major on a national box hedge collection!
On Tuesday a group came up from Thornhill Baptist in Southampton. We knew they were working in Moldova but we had not met them before. They had contacted us for advice about seeds so we offered them some of our 1.3 tonnes. We were expecting a party of 2 but 6 turned up so we had a good discussion and it seems that they are doing more or less the same as us in a different area.
We are currently experiencing difficulty in getting the maize and grass seed we planned to use on our experimental field in Burlacu into the country. It is currently stuck in Romania having missed the arranged pick up by the group from CEEM who are in Moldova at present.
On Wednesday I planted a veg garden for Toni, a single mum in the village. As she has two lively boys I am not sure that all the plantings will live to maturity, but I guess they have two chances.
I was on duty at Wisley on Thursday judging leeks. The M25 reflected the economic downturn and we did not stop on either journey. The spring trees at Wisley were fantastic: azaleas, rhododendrons, prunus and magnolias. The leeks were a bit dull by comparison.




Wisley Spring trees

On Friday John and I took the new NIAB Director out for lunch to maintain the Institute’s interest and support for the Moldovan Agricultural project – the Trust currently donates £3K pa. It seemed to go alright.
In the evening we were the organisers of the NIAB annual quiz as we made the mistake of winning last time. It was well supported and there were enough cries of anguish to convince us that it was sufficiently challenging.
Plenty of gardening between the above with the first tomatoes planted out in the GH yesterday.

Love


Mike & Kate

29th March 2009

29th March 2009.

Dear All,

Not too much to report this week (in words borrowed from my esteemed elder sister!) On Monday it was a bit nippy for gardening so I cleared all unwanted emails, pricked out tomatoes, bought extra flower seeds, helped Merv plant his potatoes, tidied the garage, ordered RHS show tickets, sowed peppers and sent a few emails.
At work on Tuesday we sowed the first batch of a new Oriental vegetable trial for gardening Which – mainly “cut and come again” material
On Wednesday I gave the Cuba talk to the NIAB “Wrinklies” otherwise known as the “NIAB Retired Persons Association” there were about 50 present and they asked lots of questions which is a good sign. It was interesting to see so many old faces and compare differing ageing rates! After John Law and I tried to sort the 1.3 tonnes of vegetable seed we have been sent by Nickersons for Moldova. They were unable to supply current germinations so we sampled each lot to test ourselves and sent some small samples with the next trip on 31st March.



ex Moldova: Cahul market seed stall

Market characters

On Thursday the U3A Ramble was meant to start at West Wratting but the pub there only opens evening now as the landlord has had to take a job to make ends meet. We therefore were redirected to Burwell which added a couple of miles to the planned walk. It was an interesting walk but I was rather tired at the finish of 10.5 miles. After I purchased a new mirror to match the dining room furniture which I hung but it was very heavy. Kate decreed that it was hung too high so it was rehung yesterday!
Friday I worked on quiz questions for the NIAB quiz next Friday. We made the mistake of winning last year – hence the preparation of questions for this year. I also set up the germination tests on the Moldovan seed. Kate took the afternoon off as she has a couple of days to use up before the end of the leave year. Unfortunately her car failed the MOT as it needs some holes welding on the sills. In the pm it warmed up enough to plant out broad bean plants raised in the glasshouse.
Saturday we did a bit more on the quiz, sowed 15 lots of flower seeds, emptied one of the compost bins, watched Over draw with Ely reserves and watched England v Slovakia in the Community Centre.
Today Norman came for lunch as Rosemary is off again without him – this time to the Dutch art galleries. I have spent 2 hours correcting John’s report on Moldova – he failed O level English 9 times!



Moldovan reflections

Soviet style flats

Love

Mike & Kate

22 March 2009

22nd March 2009.

Dear All,

This week we have attended a “Hutton Work-In” courtesy of Esther. On Thursday evening Mary-Ann, Kate and myself assembled at 19 Alpha Road to attempt various tasks kindly planned and kept for us viz: erection of 3 m curtain rail, hanging of new curtains lovingly constructed by Kate, removal of grass patches at front of house and replacing with low maintenance bark and flower area and construction of 4 x raised beds – vegetables for the growing therein.

Before


After

I am happy to report that all tasks were successfully completed plus a little light grass mowing and border cultivation.

Raised Beds

Curtains

Thanks to all those who remembered my birthday with cards or gifts – late offerings are still possible! One card depicted an elderly man coming home to announce to his wife that “I have joined the ramblers” to which she replied “Do you mean walking or talking?” As it was work and a church meeting on the 17th we celebrated on Monday with 11 coming for meal.
Both my U3A brain stretching courses have finished this week so it is back to the Rambling for me (walking and words). This week we met at Shillington near Hitchen and walked 10 miles via Meppershall and Pirton. It was a beautiful day and included a few hills which is strange for these parts. I could tell that I had missed a few weeks.

Shillington

Bedfordshire Hills

On Wednesday I caught up with the garden after absence in Moldova and planted early spuds, carrots, peas and beetroot and rotovated in the sprouts and cauliflowers.
Pastor David has gone down sick today, fortunately it was a Family Service for Mothers Day this morning but it looks as though I am performing tonight.
Mary-Ann brought some of her bead based, flower inspired pictures up to Hutton for an exhibition. Here is a tantalising glimpse:





Love

Mike & Kate

15th March 2009

15th March 2009.

Dear All,

I arrived back yesterday after another eventful few days in Moldova. The journey is always the worst part of the trip as having flown by WIZZ to Bucharest we have a 7 to 8 hour slog across Romania on modest roads. This time it was pouring with rain the whole way and exceedingly gloomy. However when we arrived and met a few smiley faces then it all seemed worthwhile. We spent the first 4 days at Burlacu with the pastor’s family with 4 fantastic kids all of whom who had chicken pox.

pastors kids Burlacu

Cahul market

We visited the new land which we are renting this year for grass and maize experiments. This year we are hoping to demonstrate fertility building without fertilizers using legumes organic style.
We then visited all the growers to whom we had distributed polythene tunnels last year to see what they had made of them. Those who had managed to use them last year got instant benefit as on top of the drought, flood, and bird flu problems of recent years last year they were blessed with acid rain from the nearby Romanian steel works which damaged many outdoor vegetable crops but not those in tunnels. Some are very inventive and one grower had used the metal pipes in conjunction with vine supports to make a structure 3 x larger than the basic.
We visited the nearest town, Cahul, on Saturday to buy seeds and experience the market then went on to 2 smaller villages where the pastor is supported by CEEM.
On Sunday it was Mothers Day so the local church was full up eventually, at KO time only about 25% were in place but I guess if you do not own a watch then lack of punctuality can be excused. John and I both spoke and the congregation did all their party pieces so the service was over 2 hours long – then I did a vegetable talk for those who wanted to stay and about 50% did. We then took the youth meeting billed as 4pm start, actually 4.55pm and they did not want to go home either – marvellous what you can do if there is no alternative entertainment!
Monday we went north to Leover a medium sized town greatly affected by emigration, one of the pastors works in the prison and has helped many inmates to get on their feet again. We met Nicoli Nicoliovich who between the ages of 15 and 50 had spent all but 18 months in prison, he is now caretaker at one of the churches. Another man needed £80 to be released on parole, the other pastor has a severely handicapped daughter and they needed £120 to send her and her mother to Ukraine for treatment. Of course they arranged a service as we were there and we had to sleep in the church which was not too bad.

Nicoli Nicoliavich

Chisnau

We went up to the capital Chisnau on Tuesday hoping to see the ambassador but he was too busy but we met 3 other interesting people, explored the city and purchased more seed, a motor mower for the experiments and a rotovator for the church community. There we stayed with our driver and translator in quite a smart house. Chisnau seemed more prosperous than when I was there 15 years or so ago with considerable new build. We met a lady who is collecting stories of Moldovan people for a book and CEEM are hoping to help publish it. She is currently pregnant with complications and the Moldovan medical advice for all such is an abortion as it is easier than trying to sort things out. She is resisting and is in the maternity hospital for tests. She told us that “she had never seen so many dead babies”
Back in Burlacu we held a training day for the rotovator and their eyes nearly popped out of their heads, we followed this by seed distribution and instructions on how to grow new crops and what to do with them. Last year we took lettuce and although they grew OK they did not know what to do with them – “please can you send us a recipe for lettuce!”
We finished off by visiting the school and the mayor. This mayor is a good one unlike his predecessor who was a communist and slightly bent.
Friday we slogged back to Bucharest and spent the night (partly as we left at 4am local time) in a hotel before catching the 6 am flight.
The highlight as ever was the people and the more times you go the more they trust you and warm to you. The needs remain huge but a little does go a long way. As usual we arrived home skint but you would not feel comfortable if it was otherwise.

Burlacu side street

Winter provisions

Kate as you would expect survived very well on her own and kept most of the seeds alive.

Love

Mike & Kate

1st March 2009

1st March 2009.

Dear All,

It was good to see nearly everyone last weekend at Mautby, congratulations to Esther, Rosie and Mary-Ann for organising the event, activities and food and everyone else for joining in. We left at 9.30 am on Monday but detoured to Caistor to view the Roman remains. We were back in Over by 11.30 am and Jackie stayed for lunch before departing for deepest Derby.

Lower Wood Farm, Mautby

Roman Caistor

Smiley faces

We had a church outing to the 10-pin bowling rink at St Neots that night. 37 turned up for a meal and most stayed to bowl. I would tell you that I got joint top score – but that would be immodest!
At work we had a visit from another group promoting the use of zeolite as a soil additive to improve texture and for controlled fertilizer release. It is used at present for recovering heavily polluted soils and they wish to demonstrate its usefulness in normal agriculture.
I started sowing seeds in the greenhouse this week and cut the lawns for the first time yesterday.
On Thursday we studied “People, life and the Antarctic Treaty” in U3A then I had to travel to London for the “Grower of the Year” awards dinner at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, Hyde Park. I had been asked to present one of the trophies for “Science into Practice”. It was just like the Oscars: nominations listed on the screen, a drum roll then open the envelope – “the winner is…” The MC was John Inverdale of BBC sports fame and he did a good job despite laughing when my job description was read out as “Vegetable Consultant” The ticket for the meal was £160 + VAT (I was not paying) and as the cheapest room was £160 as well I decided not to stay and eventually arrived home at 1 am.


John Inverdale

We had an emergency meeting on the Village Green on Friday because the Parish Council have decided to drain the field 2 weeks before the beginning of the cricket season.
On Saturday I had the honour of accompanying my wife to the curtain shop to pick up material ordered by Esther and choose some for the dining room. Kate then cooked a meal for 30 for the annual area church officers gathering.
I watched Over beat the top of the table Littleport 2 v 1 yesterday. A lively encounter with the opposition ending with 9 men.
I have spent time this week preparing for Moldova, gathering seed and gifts and talks. We should be flying out on Thursday until the 14th so no letter next week.

Love

Mike & Kate