19^th May 2013.

Dear All,

They say “There is no fool like an old fool” and I largely proved that yesterday by turning out for the cricket team as they were short. So short, that I was called on to bowl 6 overs and managed 25 runs as we failed narrowly to chase down 196 by just 9 runs. The painful part was foolishly diving to stop a ball and landing on my shoulder so that I cannot raise my left arm above waist level today!

We are leading the walk next week so Kate and I did a recce on Tuesday starting at Waresley, taking in large fields of free range chickens and bluebell woods on the way to Great and Little Gransden.

 Free Range Chickens

                             Bluebells in Waresley Woods

 The bluebells were belatedly at their peak as were the azelias and rhododendrons at Wisley on Thursday when I attended a radish assessment trial of 49 varieties. The M25 was it’s usual self so that we tool 3.5 hours to complete the 2 hour journey.

Wisley

Wisley Rhododendrons

Radish Trial

We celebrated 42 years of marital bliss on Wednesday with a lunchtime meal at the Golden Ball, Boxworth.

John Law finally collected the tomato plants we have been growing for Moggerhanger on Wednesday evening. It was a relief to wave them goodbye as the cold spring made their welfare precarious in a normally unheated greenhouse.

Moggerhanger tomatoes  

                                                    Wisteria

I spoke at a Garden Club at Needingworth on Tuesday and there were over 80 present – you never know what to expect. Some clubs are laid back and informal others are run like a Whitehall committee meeting with apologies, minutes, plans for the show and next outing etc.

Plenty of gardening this week as things are starting to move – but I expect those who garden know that and those who don’t, don’t care!

Ben is running in the Copenhagen marathon today.

Love

Mike & Kate

12th May 2013

12^th May 2013.

Dear All,

It has been a week of catching up in the garden and writing reports on our recent visit to Moldova.  In between I have attended the ENT clinic at Addenbrookes and had my ear vacuumed – an interesting experience but it seems to be healing OK.

As my appointment was on Wednesday, Kate travelled down to Godalming on the train for her tour of child minding duty. But we had a day with Amélie on Friday, as Esther is looking after her this weekend as Mary-Ann and Andy are at a Festival. Esther had to work on Friday so we were called in for child minding and gardening therapy!

  

Grandparent Duties

It was back to walking on Thursday after an enforced break for me. We started at Sutton near Potton and took in Biggleswade, Sandy and Potton on the way. We were only caught by one shower but it was windy and about 20°C cooler than Moldova.

  

Sandy Woods

As usual they broke the cricket mower while I was away so preparing the wicket has been more fraught than usual. In the end the match was rained off quite soon after it began yesterday.

Yesterday was Kate Foster’s 60^th birthday and her eldest brother Jonathan gave a lunch in her honour. Jonathan holds a senior position at Marshalls Airport and lives in a substantial converted barn at Teversham.

  Kate at 60 

  

                                                                  Jonathan’s Barn

Love

Mike & Kate

5th May 2013

5^th May 2013.

Dear All,

Well we survived another spell in Moldova with the usual packed itinery and mixed results. I hope to write a report this week so will not spell out too much here. The weather was very hot again over 30°C most days with one spectacular thunderstorm. Our routine projects with the Agriculture, Meal Deal and Water all seem to be going well. The projects that we invested some legacy money in last year all have problems. Politically the country is in chaos with the fragile anti communist coalition wobbling as the PM resigned and the Speaker was dismissed. There is a constant tug o’ war between those looking to the west and those preferring Russia.

Familiar transport

Financially most are struggling epitomised by one Burlacu family with 7 children. The eldest 2 are bright enough to go to University but this takes money so the father accepted a 2 year contract lorry driving in Russia. Meanwhile the mother, Sveta got a visa to visit relatives in the USA and while there found a 6 month job leaving the eldest daughter back home to look after the rest of the family.

The Meal Deal is currently feeding 20 children with a waiting list of 40. Some kids are so poor that they take dried bread home in their pockets for their evening meal.

 Meal Deal kids   

 Star Grower

The Training Day went well with 41 attending. The violent storm took place late on Sunday evening when we were taking the Youth Service. The aftermath were completely flooded streets which we had to negotiate in pitch darkness (no street lights) with hidden potholes knee deep in water.

    Local Characters

We visited several places that we had not been before including the Duckers new village (they sent regards to Mary & Graham). They are close to a couple of our pastors who need a bit of encouragement so hopefully they will be able to work together somehow. We visited the school, the medical centre and the mayor as well as the new water project and watched the village football match where we witnessed the slightly unusual event of the referee pacing out 10 yards for a free kick then waving the wall closer as they were standing more than 10 yards away!

Leova continues to look like a ghost town as the population has shrunk dramatically from about 20,000 to 7,000.

In Chisinau we attended a 2.5 hour pre Easter (orthodox calendar) service of 2.5 hours in Moldovan so did not understand a word! And with time to kill before out flight visited the Botanic Gardens and the gigantic underground wine store at Milestii Mici. It has 200 km of tunnels cut out of soft limestone to rebuild Chisinau after the war. 50 km are lined with barrels and bottles of wine but we had a plane to catch!

  

Serious consultations

Burlacu at its Best

Milestii Mici

I will put some photos in “Dropbox”

Love

Mike & Kate

21st April 2013

21st April 2013.

Dear All,

Not too much to report this week as we are still both struggling healthwise. Kate can’t throw off her virus and still has ear ache, coughing and sore throat. I went to Addenbrookes A&E for a couple of hours relaxation(waiting) and to have my ear examined and was passed fit to fly to Moldova. Since then my foot and ankle have been rather painful with gout so I am hobbling.

So it has been mainly gardening and preparation for Moldova this week. Gardening included writing a letter to RHS on behalf of the Vegetable Forum to complain about the shortcomings of their proposals for future trials.

I also had to compile a Gardening Column for the Over News and deliver a talk to Hauxton Garden Club. As my left ear is still not working the talk sounded very strange and echoing to me.

Yesterday was Messy Church and Kate was IC food despite not being 100% and in the evening we attended a meal for the Association churches at Whittlesey. We took Norman and Rosemary so I was quite glad of the cotton wool in my ear!

      

  

Messy Church

Love

Mike & Kate

14th April 2013

14^th April 2013.

Dear All,

It has been an interesting week healthwise. Kate has been suffering from a cough and ear ache for a couple of weeks and being a man I took it to new levels this week. A seismic cough was followed by conjunctivitis and then severe ear ache and bleeding from my left ear. I had to go to the emergency clinic in Cambridge yesterday and have a perforated ear drum. All very exciting with the prospect of travelling to Moldova coming up!

The week began sedately enough with Glynis Fenwick and I travelling to Upper Caldecote near Biggleswade to visit Peter Maudlin, a farmer who used to host NIAB Brussels sprout trials. He was always very helpful and still collects sprout stalks for me every Christmas even though he no longer grows the crop. He had a serious heart op a couple of years ago and now has problems with leaky valves and an enlarged heart. Their farmhouse kitchen is just like a farmhouse kitchen should be – straight out of a Giles cartoon with piles of stuff everywhere.

On Tuesday Kate and I joined a crowd of 110 for a charity walk for SOS Villages. It was a gentle 5.5 miles starting in Barrington followed by soup, bread and cheese but raised £1200.

  SOS Villages Walk

On Wednesday I was at Wisley for a sprouting broccoli trial and serious discussions about the cut backs in their trials programme. The journey down was one of our worst taking over 4 hours due to an accident involving the death of a pedestrian on the M25.

Mendicino new Sprouting Broccoli

Due to coughing and being unable to open my eyes on Thursday we both missed the Thursday walk. John and Terry came for a meal in the evening to discuss the next Moldova trip. Terry had an ear problem, John skin cancer on his ears and a bang on the head with a metal pole – we could be quite a crew!

I have been officially asked to judge the Fruit & Veg at Over Produce Show this year – some have honours thrust upon them........ I have agreed as long as I can have a say on clarifying the schedule which always causes some discussion “wash or not wash, peel or not peel etc.”

On Friday Kate helped me pot on the 300 tomatoes that have been lurking in our dining room. These are destined for Moggerhanger and have caused great anxiety in this cold and frosty spring.

Tomato crop with indentured labour!

Love

Mike & Kate

7th April 2013

7^th April 2013.

Dear All,

Dare we say that spring has arrived? Yesterday I planted my maincrop potatoes, broad beans, peas, beetroot, silverskin onions, scorzonera, salsify, radish, carrots, parsnips, leeks, aubergines and peppers. Earlier in the week I had sown herbs, flowers cauliflowers and cabbage in the greenhouse so things are starting to move even if not unconditionally warm.

In addition I have spoken at two Garden Clubs this week so growing is in the air. The second slot was at Bourn for the 11^th time! I did my very first talk there in 1979 – they must have very short memories!

It was our turn at Godalming this week. They are waiting for developments on buying and selling houses but hopefully it is still all on track. On Wednesday we went to Petworth House again, this time we were able to get inside the house where there are a phenomenal number of paintings: 19 Turners, as well as Van Dycks, Blakes and a magnificent room lined with woodcarving by Grinlin Gibbons. Amélie was most impressed by the central staircase which was huge, carpeted and gentle thus affording considerable opportunity to demonstrate her climbing skills. The house was very child friendly with a chest in each large room for dressing up, puzzles or playthings.

Petworth House

Daffodils

Gibbon’s Wood carving

  

 Ready for the off 

        Dressing up box

Main Staircase

Kitchens

Our Thursday walk started at Leighton-Bromswold west of Huntingdon. There was a decidedly keen wind about and 11 miles seemed plenty.

I fetched the heavy roller from its winter quarters on Friday so serious preparations are underway – another sign of spring.

Kate has been suffering with a sore throat this week (not of Scandinavian proportions!) but of course ploughs on.

Love

Mike & Kate

31st March 2013

31^st March 2013.

Dear All,

Well for ice and snow forget Norway and Sweden – they can’t hold a candle to Derbyshire in the spring!

We had to abandon the proposed walk round Wirksworth last Sunday as it was cut off and we were advised not to attempt it so we drove straight to Hathersage and Grindleford which were our bases for the week (half the party in each). Kate and I arrived at lunchtime and walked up the hill towards Stannage Edge, the road at the top of the hill was blocked by a 10ft drift so we spent quite some time pushing cars out that were stuck.

Above Grindleford

On Monday we met at the public car park in Hathersage but had to clear snow and ice before we could park. Our leader modified all the proposed walks to keep to lower land but this was the toughest route as we were still experimenting to see how the “land lies”. The answer was that it was lying under quite a lot of snow. The slower walkers gave up after an hour or so but the rest of us battled up towards Stannage Edge. The snow was too deep to reach the top of the ridge but we got within 100 yards and although hard work was absolutely beautiful. We had lunch in a pub at Bamford.

 Below Stannage Edge

On Tuesday we started from our hotel: “The Maynard at Grindleford” and walked up the hill towards Froggartt Edge and White Moor. The going was easier apart from a 200 yard stretch of knee deep drift just before the pub. Some of us walked back and I managed to lose a gripper from my boot so when we got back Kate and I went to search for it. This took until 5 pm so it was a long day.

 White Moor

Near Grindleford

On Wednesday we started from the other hotel in Hathersage and climbed over 1000ft over Abney Moor which was rather bleak. On the route back we encountered Offerton Lane which was completely blocked with snow and I was sent ahead to scout a route which involved this party of elderly hikers walking on top of the stone wall to get through!

 Abney Moor

                                                                  Offerton Lane

Thursday was a gentler affair walking from Heath to Hardwick Hall. Kate and I then called in at Bolehill where there was still a considerable amount of snow.

All in all a memorable and exciting trip.

Wirkworth Moor

Love

Mike & Kate