23rd May 2010

23rd May 2010.

Dear All,

Our College garden visit this week was to Jesus College and it was one of the better ones, 27 acres of real estate in the middle of Cambridge plus the gardeners have to look after 70 other gardens at college owned properties in town. Although it is not the oldest college in Cambridge it has the oldest building as they took over an existing nunnery. The nuns were known as “naughty nuns” as they used to sell themselves in Maids Causeway in town.

Jesus College Nun’s cloister


Jesus College Wisteria

The grounds have several splendid Wisterias and American ornamental Plane trees grown from seed in 1802. The May Balls are a nightmare for the gardeners if the weather is wet and they have just had a large lawn resown and laser levelled for £14,000!
It has been a serious gardening week resowing runner and French beans clobbered by the frost, planting sweet corn, Brussels sprouts, sprouting broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, water melons, red beet, parsnips and aubergines.
The walk this week was close to Cambridge starting at Stow cum Quy and progressing via Lode, Anglesey Abbey to Reach and back much of the route owned by the National Trust.


Lode Water Mill

Quy Water

Cricket did not go quite so well this week and having roasted in the field all afternoon I did wonder whether there are better ways of spending the day. Another birthday party last night – Julia O’Neil’s 50th at Swavesey Memorial Hall.
We have been entertaining today, the Kitsons plus Dave and Ellie Cook from the walking group as three of the four originated within 10 miles of Stowmarket conversation was not difficult.
We have a wren apparently nesting in the bat box on the back wall, the spotted flycatchers are back but not sure where they are nesting and a grass snake has just been spotted in the pond – it is almost as though they all know that “Springwatch” is returning very shortly!

Love

Mike & Kate

16th May 2010

16th May 2010.

Dear All,

It has been a busy week in Lake Wobegone, or at least Over. Monday I had a CEEM Board meeting re Moldova at Peterborough followed by a Deacons meeting. Tuesday I was at Wisley judging asparagus followed by a cricket pitch preparation and then Home Group. Wednesday was work followed by a gardening club talk at Hitchin where about 60 turned up,

Wisley

Thursday the walk started at Great Chishall and like the previous week included blue and yellow panoramas and several attractive cottages. Saturday pitch preparation followed. In the evening it was the 4th week of Alpha and 2 extra people came along so this has been encouraging so far.
Friday was paperwork, grass cutting and gardening followed by a meal at the Golden Ball, Boxworth to celebrate 39 years of married bliss – and to try out the venue for the cousin’s reunion in June. This has now been booked but I will send a separate communiqué with details.
On Saturday both Over cricket teams won on the same day which has not happened for sometime,
Today we have had a “Tea & Talk” meeting with Stuart Wood the chaplain of Cambridge Utd football club. He is an ex Covenanter from Bury St Edmunds so we have come across him a few times before.
Kate and I have just returned from a bike ride to the river (not Graham standard – but start)

Great Chishall


Love
Mike & Kate

9th May 2010

9th May 2010.

Dear All,

After Mondays family gathering at Hutton the week has mainly been report writing, photo downloading and catching up in the garden.

Swan & Cygnet wood, Stock

63rd Birthday gathering

I have sown courgettes, squash, gourds, pumpkins, water melons, cucumbers, beetroot, peas, carrots and radish this week and planted out runner beans, French beans, celeriac and cabbage. The rain has been useful but outdoor crops are slow due to the cool weather.
Our Thursday walk began at Hail Weston near St Neots and proceeded via Great Staunton for 11.2 miles notable for vivid blue swaths of bluebells and yellow splurges of rape.

Royal Oak, Hail Weston

Hail Weston

Cricket got off to a traditional damp start with both matches cancelled on Saturday.
Alpha seems to be going OK with 8 guests turning up for the third week.
Our Labour candidate was deselected at the last minute due to unwise utterances so we must have been the only constituency in the land not to have that option.

Love

Mike & Kate

3rd May 2010

3rd May 2010.

Dear All,

We have just completed another successful trip to Moldova. The preparation was a bit fraught with the volcano ash threatening the flight so we were not sure how psyched up to be until we were actually airborne. This time there were three of us: John Law, Chris Chanter from Southampton and myself and for the first time we flew direct to Chisnau via Bucharest instead of travelling overland from Romania. The other two had trouble in the transit customs in Bucharest and for a time I thought I might be in Moldova on my own!



Chisnau flats

In Chisnau we stayed with a new family who were friends of our translator Igor. On Saturday we shopped for seed and travelled to Leover where CEEM supports 2 pastors. Leover used to have 90,000 inhabitants in communist times this has shrunk to 15,000 with emigration and resembles a ghost town. We then finally arrived at Burlacu where we have the agricultural project and were due to stay the week. All three were housed in one small room which was cosy! But as usual the welcome was warm and fantastic. We took the service Sunday am and there was a 40th birthday picnic in the hills in the pm.
On Monday we measured up the field they had hired for experiments and we had to apply fertilizer to a hectare by hand. This was cultivated in by a contractor and then we drilled 4 maize varieties on 75% of the field, and hand broadcast large plots of Lucerne and red clover. Next day we filled in the rest of the field with 48 different grass and clover plots so we had a flying start and finished the field work by Tuesday lunchtime. A family from St Neots, who had raised money for Moldova arrived en route for Australia overland with a Land Rover, caravan and 2 small children. They




Picnic

were able to see how the money was being spent at the school and the children joined in classes for the day. The locals made them very welcome and fed them for the rest of the week.
On Wednesday we sowed vegetable seeds and visited some of the growers who had received tunnels and they all seemed to be using them very constructively.
Our highlight was a training seminar for the local growers on Wednesday afternoon. We were helped by a Moldovan grower and Christian called Daniel Apostu who gave two excellent talks on “Using your tunnels” and “Using your garden for profit”. In between I gave a talk about “UK Vegetable growing and seed production”. We were due to start at 4.00 pm when about 7 people were present, we eventually started at 4.45 pm when 38 were present.



Burlacu mechanisation

Thursday we went to Cahul to visit the vegetable market while John visited the local Baptist supervisor. After we travelled to Hiratop to see the 4th pastor Oleg who is by far the best grower, he had tomatoes almost ready and does a great job employing local lads without jobs.



Oleg

We travelled back to Chisnau on Thursday evening and rose at 3 am to travel back, I was just in time to help prepare the wicket for the first match of the season.
After it has been a birthday series Donna’s 40th Saturday, Bob’s 60th Sunday and today we have been to Hutton to celebrates Kate’s birthday with Esther, Mary-Ann and Ben including a good walk in the “Swan and Cygnet Wood” at Stock.

Love

Mike & Kate

18th April 2010

18th April 2010.

Dear All,

It has been a busy weekend or end to the week. On Thursday our walk started at Cavendish and went to Clare, both villages are chocolate boxy or contain several very picturesque buildings. The weather was bright, sunny and cold and just right for walking – only 10.1 miles this week, hardly worth getting out of bed for!


Cavendish Cottages


It was a 35 mile journey from Over and I had to return to the next village, Hundon, in the evening for a garden club talk.
On Friday I hired an industrial sander to attack the chapel school room floor, which was quite a job as the floorboards were full of nails and none of them was level. The chapel itself is being repainted by Ray Asplin so goodbye pink panels, hello tasteful magnolia and mushroom with gold trimmings.


Chapel Refurbishment

Esther and Eirwen came to collect our 25 year old rabbit hutch at lunchtime. In the evening Kate and I drove down to visit Ben and inspect his new flat. The M25 was closed anticlockwise so we had to use the Blackwell tunnel – a bit daunting for simple country folk! – but not too bad thanks to exemplary map reading by Kate and the Sat Nav. We ate at the local Vietnamese restaurant and slept on the new sofa bed.
The flat is quite smart and quiet but only 100 yards from Streatham High Street. We helped hang a few pictures and purchased a rug but did not have long to finish jobs as Ben was involved in a vital relegation battle at 2 pm at Sydenham. We went to support in baking sunshine, but due to the absence of numerous key players the task proved too much for the plucky Hampstead Heathens who eventually succumbed by 4 goals to 1.


39 Gleneldon Road (right of semi) 1st floor back


Watchful defender sees off Chertsey’s 13th corner

This afternoon I have been to Grantham for a CEEM meeting about Moldova. We are due to fly out next Friday but at present that looks to be in some doubt!
Kate has spoken to Gwen re the cousin’s reunion offering accommodation. At present they plan to hire a car to take John and Muriel out and about and bring them up to Cambridge but plans are not set in concrete.
The garden has started to move with potatoes well up and several other crops emerging. We had a slight frost earlier in the week but it did not seem to hurt much except the frog spawn.
I have put some Ecuador photos on Facebook for those interested in that sort of thing.
Love

Mike & Kate

11th April 2010

11th April 2010.

Dear All,

Kate and I spent most of yesterday at a wedding – Jo Colquhoun for those that know her, daughter of friends from Cottenham for those that don’t. It was a very grand affair with the reception for 140 in a marquee in the parent’s garden. It went very well but as often is the case it seemed to go on for ever so that we did not finish the meal until 9 pm – then there was the evening rave up. The weather was brilliant and the food and flowers probably cost a fortune.

Duncan, Sue, Mike, Jo & Mr & Mrs Newman Snr.


Cottenham Church

This week’s garden club talk was at Henham near Stanstead with added excitement of the beamer cutting out half way through!.
I decided to do the shorter walk on Thursday as I had an evening meeting; however it turned out to be 10.2 miles as opposed to 10.6 miles for the longer walk! We started at Sturmer near Haverhill and again the weather added to the enjoyment of the day.

Kedington Church

I collected the heavy roller from its winter quarters on a farm and started the cricket wicket preparation on Friday. It does not seem too bad at this stage.
Otherwise it has been digging, planting, sowing, hoeing and grass cutting – things are really starting to move.

Love

Mike & Kate

4th April 2010

4th April 2010.

Dear All,

Happy Easter to all readers! We started with a sunrise service at 6.30 am and the sun did rise after an initial delay at about 6.50 am. The temperature was 3°C so not a morning for hanging around. This was followed by an 11.00 am Family service and with Communion and evening service to come it is reminiscent of the never ending Good Fridays at Upminster!

Sunrise 6.50 am

I have given two talks on "Hand in Hand" and Ecuador this week, one to the after church gathering last Sunday and another to the Women’s meeting where only one person fell asleep – practically a record!
Monday evening Kate and I joined some of the U3A walkers for a Thai meal at the Barley Mow in Histon and on Thursday Kate was not working, and joined the walk starting at Preston near Hitchin. It was one of the more scenic routes and will look even better in a month when the bluebells are out.

Preston Almshouses

Approaching Preston

Mary-Ann has been offered a permanent job at Millers, one of the places she has temped. They are architech/designers/engineers and have been trying for Olympic projects.
Otherwise it has mostly been gardening and mending a rabbit’s hutch for Esther to collect.

Love

Mike & Kate