4th July 2010

4th July 2010.

Dear All,


It has been a fairly busy week. On Monday morning some of us went to Eden, Cambridge to hear an American, Wayne Gruden talk about “Christianity and Politics”. In the afternoon the college visit was to Selwyn where they spend more time planting annual borders than any previous college we encountered.

Selwyn Gardens

In the evening we joined some of the U3A walkers for a meal at the Golden Ball at Boxworth where we had recently dined with the cousins.
On Tuesday I was surprisingly in charge of the NIAB Salads open day at Shippea Hill (I thought I was just helping but my colleague opted for a training course). In the evening the chapel cricket team were performing on Parkers Piece but I did not get there in time to play.

Salads in Fen flat fields

On Wednesday I patched the wicket and tidied the garden before attending our old NIAB director John MacLeod’s funeral in Over church. There was a huge turnout as he was very personable and kept involvement with several organisations including RHS after retirement. There were 5 eulogies at the service. Afterwards I was picked up by Rob Haward to drive down to Devon via Norton (one of their bases) to help his company Riverford Organics with some consultancy on vegetable varieties. They are the largest box scheme in the country with a turnover of £35m. They operate from 5 sites including Sacrewell near Peterborough with HQ at Buckfastleigh near Newton Abbot. Growing vegetables in Devon with steep fields and narrow lanes is a challenge, so is growing 40 different vegetable crops and maintaining continuity and diversity throughout the season. Highlight was eating in their Field Kitchen where they show off the quality of their produce. They currently have a similar operation touring the country feeding people in a yurt.


Rhubarb in not so flat Devon

The journey back on Friday afternoon was painful as there seemed to be an accident or traffic jam every 50 miles.
Yesterday I was speaking at a farm walk in Willingham where a Christian farmer opens his operation for inspection every year with a guest speaker, farm tour, rare breed inspection and BBQ. I was due to speak in a barn using Powerpoint and Kate had collected the chapel laptop as we were leading the Family Service today. When I arrived I had picked up the wrong laptop! - but fortunately it was close enough to zip home and swap.

Farm walk in Willingham

Kate’s cough is much better but has not completely disappeared.
Love

Mike & Kate

27th June 2010

27th June 2010.

Dear All,


For those not present at the “Senior Cousins Reunion” photos are attached. It was an enjoyable event even though cold and damp. It was great to see everyone especially Gwen after 50 years and meet Rob for the first time.

Assorted Cousins 2010
Kate and I attended a seed companies 25th Anniversary near Evesham yesterday. Enza Zaden are an English offshoot of a Dutch salad company. They put 50 or so up in local hotels and laid on a dinner for 120 in a marquee. Our hotel was very old dating back to the 1600s and very attractive but last night was exceptionally warm. We made a day of it and visited Kenilworth Castle on the way which was very interesting.
On the way back this morning we called in at Hidcote Manor gardens which are excellent, very mature having been bequeathed to the nation by an American Gardener 80 years ago.

Kenilworth Castle

New Formal gardens

Hidcote Manor Gardens

Our Hotel

Dave Garlick was here tonight to take the evening service. He came early enough to suffer through England’s World Cup exit and we were joined by John Law for tea afterwards. John has just enjoyed a 60th birthday trip to Alaska and took over 20,000 photos!
Otherwise the college trip was to Kings this week and they included a tour of the chapel, the head gardener wears a special uniform with a brown bowler hat and a college tie.

Kings college Masters garden

The walk on Thursday was the second part of the “Stour Valley Way” from Great Bradley to Stoke by Clare. It was an “classic” walk with water, grass and trees but very hot.
We went to a U3A BBQ at Dry Drayton on Wednesday evening run by my old “Solar System” lecturer. He is a keen BBQer with gigantic woks to cook vegetables and steak cut from a whole joint of beef. It was held in a fantastic old vicarage setting complete with croquet lawn and wood.
Friday we had a “Walk About Supper” in the village so we have eaten quite well this week!.

Love

Mike & Kate

13th June 2010

13th June 2010.

Dear All,

Kate has been struggling all week with flu like symptoms, she stayed at home one day and came home early on several others but has also had to look after cells all week including Saturday and Sunday. I went with her yesterday to inspect the new premises at Chesterford Park, the surroundings are pleasant but her main working area is a bit cramped.

Chesterford Park



Scientist at Work

Our college visit this week was to Sydney Sussex which has mature gardens with more trees than most which means there is quite a lot of shade. Health and Safety decreed that their large Magnolia could not be pruned with ladders this year so they had to hire a “cherry picker” – 2

gardeners hurt their backs pushing it into position!

Sydney Sussex

Star plant Dictamnus


Our chapel cricket match this week was against St Neots Methodists and we were winning easily (146-6 v 14-5) when one of their players collapsed with a dislocated knee cap so the game had to be abandoned while we waited for an ambulance. Last year we played them for the first time and sent one to hospital when he tried to catch the ball and it went through his hands and knocked several teeth out! Last week one of ours dislocated his shoulder so cricket is proving a dangerous game.
Our walk on Thursday started at Balsham and took in Horseheath, West Wickham and West Wratting. It was muddy and slippery initially and quite hard going after rain the previous day but finished OK.
After collecting a puncture on my bike last week I managed one in the car on Friday on the way to Tescos, I hope there won’t be a third!
U3A World Cup joke: A Cambridge Professor was researching the correlation between penis size and happiness. He reported that he had accumulated plenty of information but was lacking data relating to the shortest length (under 2”) so he had put out an appeal that anyone in that category should identify themselves over the next 3 weeks by flying a white flag with a red cross from either their car or bedroom window.
Looking forward to seeing some of you next Friday.


Love

Mike & Kate

6th June 2010

6th June 2010.

Dear All,

It has been a hot dry week so a deal of watering to keep things growing, but most things seem to be OK and recovering from the late frosts. We started broad beans and strawberries this week which is a sign that summer is a coming.
Kate has been suffering towards the end of the week and is currently in bed with a nasty cough and temperature.
On Friday, we drove down to Hutton to help Esther with a few jobs. The biggest was demolishing an old rotten shed covered with decades of ivy. The best bits of wood were recycled into a compost bin. We also checked sources of wood for skirting board and doors, replaced a curtain rail, rehung the front gate and tried (unsuccessfully) to stop a leak in the gutter. It was a good days work and we drove home the pretty way via the Rodings, Dunmow and Thaxsted.


Before

After

Star plant in Esther’s garden

Our Thursday walk was 12 miles starting from Godmanchester, via Hemmingford Abbots, Hemmingford Grey, St Ives, Houghton and back to the Black Bull in Godmanchester on the Ouse Valley Way. It was hot but a good walk with plenty of water and flowering meadows.

Approach to Hemmingford Abbots

Ouse Valley Way

Flower Meadow near St Ives

Yesterday we tried a bike ride along the new guided bus way to St Ives which was fine until I got a puncture on the way back just outside of St Ives so I had a long walk back pushing the bike.
Gwen phoned last night to confirm the cousins reunion arrangements. They and John and Muriel have booked into a Travel Lodge the Thursday night and Gwen and Rob are staying here on Friday night.
Love

Mike & Kate

30th May 2010

30th May 2010.

Dear All,

Kate and I were at Chelsea Flower Show on Tuesday so I could fill this letter with photos. It was warm, but not too hot and unlike Mondays was almost celebrity free. I expect most of you will have seen coverage on TV (but not Mary?) – there were more large gardens this year but I prefer the smaller ones as they are more practical and less showing off. Medwyn was back in the tent with his magnificent display of vegetables and won the Presidents prize for the best in show.





Chelsea

We travelled by coach as we can pick it up at Trumpington Park & Ride and the fare is a fraction of the train fare. The only drawback was the Queen causing chaos by opening Parliament so we were diverted all round Will’s mothers.
I had a Garden Club talk at Barton Mills in the evening so it was a long day. They were a good crowd and there were over 70 there.
On Monday our College garden tour was at St John’s another huge slice of desirable real estate in the middle of Cambridge including 2 bridges over the Cam. They have about 20 acres of grass to cut besides all the other gardening.
It has been quite a garden tour week as on Thursday night I had arranged a chapel visit to Wolfson gardens where the head gardener is an ex NIAB employee Phil Stigwood.


St Johns


Our walk on Thursday involved a train ride from Ely to Littleport and then walking back via Prickwillow – not many hills but enough water and “throbbing fertility” to make it interesting.
On Friday we were invited out to lunch with newish neighbours Geoff and Valerie Twiss opposite. They have only been here for a few months and already Geoff has stood for the District council as a Lib Dem candidate.
Cucurbit week in the garden with courgettes, squash, gourds and pumpkins being planted and cucumbers being trained. The garden is now full so no more planting until something is harvested.

Love

Mike & Kate

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