24th May 09

24th May 2009.

Dear All,

Pleased to hear that Graham is home and hopefully feeling better – really the cousin’s dos are not that bad - you don’t have to keep creating excuses!
Kate and I went to Chelsea Flower Show on Tuesday travelling on the coach – Cambridge to Victoria for less than £6 return seems a bargain. Of course when you are used to attending the Monday preview day Tuesday is quite different, crowds and hardly a celeb in sight! but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
The large show gardens always seem a bit like showing off with displays of water and concrete but the small gardens were excellent this year and the standard of flowers in the tent and the surrounding artwork was fantastic.






Chelsea Gardens
Otherwise it has been lots of gardening and watering this week. We have planted Brussels sprouts, sprouting broccoli, cauliflowers, cabbage, lettuce, sweet corn, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, melons, gourds, courgettes, aubergines, sweet and chilli peppers and radish. Planting is easy, protecting everything from pigeons, squirrels, deer and other pests takes ages.
On the wildlife front the spotted flycatchers returned this week (but not to the same nest), and in addition to the blue tits in the box we have located a wrens nest and a grass snake in the pond.
The walk on Thursday was a repeat of the New Years day walk from Halls Green, via Luffenhall, Cromer, Hare Street and Weston.
Last night John Law came for a “Chinese Evening” at chapel. He showed photos from his two trips judging the national Chinese photographic competition and very good they were. We had a Chinese takeaway and a collection for Moldova.

Plasticine Garden

Chelsea Flowers

Chelsea Hat

Chelsea Vegetables

Love


Mike & Kate

17th May 09

17th May 2009.

Dear All,

As we have seen most of you this week this is only a brief note.
Spent Monday with Ben looking at flats in Mitcham, he put in a couple of offers for one that had been well restored but fairly small but these were not accepted so the search goes on.
I actually went shopping on Wednesday for some new walking boots. This was achieved after trying on more than a few and I tried them out on our Thursday walk. This week we were on the Icknield Way section 2 from Winfield to Pegsden north of Luton. It was a decent walk but misty again and fairly long at 14 miles so a good test for the boots.
On Friday it was the cousin’s reunion in Essex meeting for lunch at Weeley, followed by a walk round the Naze and tea at Beaumont. For those that have not heard Graham was not well enough to attend having been diagnosed with “Community Acquired Pneumonia”. He had been feeling lousy for 4 or 5 days with no energy. Mary phoned yesterday to say that he is now in hospital as he was not improving.

Walk round the Naze: Mary, Peter, Annamarie, Kate, John, David

Naze Tower from Marina

Naze Tower

Cliff Erosion

38th Wedding Anniversary

I played cricket for the IIIs yesterday – first match with a very junior team. We came second by a margin and I top scored with 9!
As we had not had a decent rain for 6 or 7 weeks I wrote the Gardening Column on drought this week. It has worked quite well as we had a useful shower last night!

Love


Mike & Kate

10th May 2009.

Dear All,


Kate enjoyed having Esther and Mary-Ann here on Monday to help celebrate her birthday. We had lunch at an Italian Restaurant at Little Eversden then a walk through the bluebells in Knapwell Woods. Ben was ata friends wedding but we are hoping to see him tomorrow as we go down to Streatham to help him look for a flat to buy.
Not too much to report this week as I have spent quite a bit of time in the garden and three afternoons on the cricket square. Both are in serious need of some steady moisture. I hope you all have your runner and French beans planted out and have sown your sweet corn, courgettes and squash!
The walk this week met at Radwinter, between Saffron Walden and Finchingfield, and proceeded via Sawards End and Wimbush back to Radwinter. There were several patches of woodland, some with bluebells, a few hills and generous helpings of oilseed rape.

Wimbush Hall




Radwinter Plough Inn

We plan to strip out the kitchen and have new cupboards etc made in the village by the local carpenter, he came to check the measurements this week before starting on the construction and we went to the tile emporium at Dry Drayton to choose a short list.
Kate spent most of Saturday entertaining Toni and her two toddlers Charlie and Noah, she is bringing them up herself and sometimes finds it a strain as they are fairly lively. Their choice of venue for the afternoon was Willingham Windmill which had an open day – perhaps not the ideal location for fearless youngsters!
Hope to see some of you Friday.

Love


Mike & Kate

2nd May 2009.

Dear All,

Esther and Mary-Ann are here overnight to celebrate their mother’s birthday tomorrow; we have booked into an Italian restaurant for lunch. Last night we attended the Essex Musical Association’s performance of “The Dream of Gerontius” at Thaxted Parish church as Esther was singing and starred in the “semi-chorus”. It was very good but sadly their last concert as after 103 years there is neither the organisation nor finance to carry on.



Thaxted

Thaxted church

I have been to work a couple of days this week (what a strain I hear you say!) as we have a new contract to experiment with zeolite – an micromesh compound from volcanic sites used in water filters and to reclaim heavy metal contaminated soils. The company are now wishing to launch it in agriculture as a soil conditioner and slow nutrient release medium. We applied it to three carrot sites in east Suffolk (by hand) and need to monitor emergence, yield, quality and disease suppression.

Zeolite incorporation, Iken near Snape


Lots of gardening and cricket pitch work this week. With potatoes up 12” there is an anxious glance at the frost warnings each evening.
The walk this week started at Little Eversden and preceded via Great Eversden, Kingston and Toft – another good 10 miles but much more manageable when the ground is dry.


Little Eversden

David, Rebecca and family (our pastor and family) left for a month in South Africa yesterday so life is a little busier for a few weeks. We did not get off to a great start this morning as the visiting speaker got stuck in a traffic jam coming from St Neots and did not appear until 11.10 am.
One of our old neighbours, Lynne Medlock (of rabbit fame) has called in so I will stop now.

Love


Mike & Kate

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