24th January 2016.

Dear All,

On Monday Kate and I accompanied Esther to Rochester to buy a car that had been adapted to take a wheelchair. We visited a company which specialises in these adaptations and after a couple of test runs chose a 2012 Peugeot Horizon.

We had lunch in Chatham Docks where there has been a great dockside development for shops, restaurants etc round a packed marina – not quite like Pepys day!

Peugeot Horizon

Chatham

On Tuesday we had an afternoon swim as we had missed out on Monday and later heard that John Blanchard, who took our wedding service had died.

I had to get a mugshot on Wednesday as I am due for my first pictorial driving licence when the 70^th rolls up. I also managed to book Moldova flights for the next outing departing on the 27^th April on “Moldovan Air”. The price initially doesn’t seem too bad - then you add seat booking and luggage and it mounts up. The same evening we heard that the Moldovan Parliament had been invaded by an angry mob still upset about the disappearance of an eighth of their GDP from the national banks.

Our Thursday walk started at Rushden near Baldock and headed for Sandon. Fortunately the ground was largely frozen as when it was reccied it was extremely soggy and hard going.

Rushden

I had to stand in as chairman for “Biographies” this week as our leader was having hospital treatment. The topic was “Alistair Cooke” the journalist, not the cricketer. He had a remarkable career as a theatre director, actor, magazine editor, theatre critic, film critic, film researcher, author as well as radio and TV presenter. He was a friend of royalty, presidents, film stars – Charlie Chaplin was supposed to be his best man – but failed to turn up. He wrote for the Guardian from 1949 to 1972 and presented “Letter from America” from 1946 to a month before he died in 2004 – 2,869 episodes! His private life was not so happy – a divorce and difficult relationships with father and children.

This was followed by the first session of “Visual Perception and the Brain”. Seeing is not believing, the brain does a lot of interpretation. In the lecturer’s final examination he was given: “I open my eyes and my occipital cortex is stimulated and I see a world of objects – how might these facts be reconciled?” He showed some remarkable visual tricks so it should prove to be interesting.

Friday night was the annual U3A Rambling New Year Social at Newnham College. It is always a good event as participants have to bring a dish each and a certain amount of competition ensues so that the quality of the food is always excellent. The entertainment featured a poem and a few songs and I presented the Review of the year. Philip having his legs straightened featured heavily.

Love

Mike & Kate

17th January 2016.

Dear All,

It has been an interesting week! I came home from football last Saturday with tooth ache and Tuesday afternoon saw me in the chair as the dentist explored my root canals – “there should be four roots, I will have to dig around for the last one” Cue a drill bit resembling something from my woodwork kit! Actually it wasn’t too bad but I need two more 1.5 hour appointments and he slyly introduced the price while I was anaesthetised.

Monday we had a meeting to plan the church events for a year, followed by a deacons meeting and then Tuesday a group meeting. Three meetings in two days is not what I retired for!

On Wednesday I was due as Wisley for the final trial assessment of 2015 trials of Brussels sprouts and Leeks. I was travelling with a colleague from Bury St Edmunds and we were caught in a serious fatal accident on the Cambridge ring road near the start of the M11 where a car exploded and caught fire. We were trapped for 2 hours and arrived at Wisley just as the meeting ended!  We did manage to examine the plots later. The road still hadn’t opened at 7 pm when we returned.

Flower Sprouts (our newest vegetable) on the end of the Brussels sprouts

Leek trial with 29 entries

Our Thursday walk was round Potton, Sandy and Sutton. Although it was chilly and wet the soil is sandy and well drained so not as sticky as it might have been.

Sandy Pits

Sutton Packhorse Bridge

Potton Centre

U3A term started again this week and the “Biography” subject was “Sir Joseph Rotblad” a Pole who took UK citizenship and was involved in nuclear fission research. This led to the development of the Atomic Bomb initially in the UK, then jointly with the USA in Los Alamos. He was deeply opposed to developing weapons of mass destruction but persuaded that the Germans were doing so and his research would create the position which would stop them being used. When it became clear in 1944 that the Germans had stopped their programme he asked to be released from the project. The Americans immediately accused him of being a spy and banned him from the USA until the 1960s. He returned to the UK and spent his time developing nuclear applications in medicine and campaigning against nuclear weapons. He was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1995.

I watched Over lose 1 v 0 to Cottenham in “cool” conditions yesterday afternoon then we were on “Street Pastors” last night. Kate was in the cafe and I was on patrol. It initially seemed to be quiet but cold with snow flurries, but after midnight there were several fairly serious incidents not least a Portuguese chap who had been beaten up with a black eye, bloody nose and torn coat and no buttons left on his shirt. The police got involved and took him to the cafe. Kate said he got quite belligerent and kept muttering about “Jesus” which led them to believe he was some sort of fanatic. It later turned out that his name was “Jesus da Silva!”

Love

Mike & Kate

10th January 2016.

Dear All,

I hope you are all still above water level? The bottom of our garden flooded briefly mid week but it went over night. I have just pulled some leeks and each one went “slurp” as it left the ground!

Not too much to report this week as U3A classes have not restarted and no extra meetings or activities except the annual New Year Chapel Social. Kate was IC catering and with over 50 booked in it takes a good deal of planning and execution. This year’s menu: Butternut Squash soup or Chicken and Pork Terrine, Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding, Braised Red Cabbage, Leeks in Cheese sauce, Roast Potatoes, a Selection of Sweets, Cheese & Biscuits, Coffee and Chocolates. Price £5.

I presented a review of the year and a startling feature is how many locals have passed on this year. In 20 years I have never listed more than 4 or 5, this time there were 13 with some connection to the chapel.

Our Thursday walk encountered a few showers but was not too wet, but of course, a bit muddy. We started at Linton and took in Hildersham and the Roman Road that used to link Cambridge and Colchester or Duroliponte to Camulodunum by the Via Devana as we prefer to say!

Above Linton

River Granta (or Amazon?!)

Historic Clapper Style

I have set up my heated propagator in the greenhouse again this week to start some germination testing and planted out some chitted broad beans as my original Aquadulce are now over 12” tall and likely to succumb to any severe weather if and when it arrives.

Love

Mike & Kate

3^rd January 2016.

Dear All,

Happy New Year to you all. Christmas seemed to last a nice long time and we greatly enjoyed it. Esther and Ben were here from late Christmas Eve until Tuesday afternoon and Mary-Ann, Andy, Amélie and Bert arrived late on Saturday and stayed until Wednesday evening. Esther arrived with a sore throat and cold symptoms, Ben has a split eardrum and a sprained wrist but both gradually improved.

I met up with several people before Christmas with the annual distribution of 50 Brussels sprout stems as well as a 30 kg net. Kate and I attended the NIAB “Wrinklies” Christmas lunch at the Bar Hill hotel. We also inspected Kate & Gordon’s new extensive extension in Haddenham and Hilary & Geoff’s new bungalow in Streatham.

Adrian joined us for Christmas lunch and enjoyed/endured an afternoon and evening of games and quizzes. I adopted the “Aunty Connie Role” of losing at nearly everything – must be old age!

Christmas lunch

We had a very breezy walk on Boxing Day round Over Fen and on Tuesday visited the local Raptor Centre at Woodhurst. They have a large selection of birds and put on a twice daily flying demonstration.

Eagle Owl

In between Ben, Andy and I watched Cambridge Utd somehow beat Barnet 2 v 1.

Amélie was very well behaved despite the excitement and attention. On Wednesday we took her to Huntingdon Garden Centre to see the pets on display. Bert has a very healthy appetite and a stout set of lungs. He has learnt to smile which of course helps in the cuteness stakes!

Mary-Ann & Albert

Amélie’s busy day

Kate’s leg has been playing up again so she was not fit to walk on Thursday. Unusually we met at a Golf Club not far away at Bourn as the village pub is a bit up market. The food at the club was far better value. We walked to Longstowe and back.

Longstowe Church

We saw the New Year in by going to bed before 11 pm!

Yesterday I watched Over come back from 3 down to win 4 v 3 in a very exciting match against West Wratting – much more entertaining than Cambridge Utd!

Love

Mike & Kate

20^th December 2015.

Dear All,

Black Eye Friday warning issued as police and Army take to Cambridge streets

By Cambridge News  |  Posted: December 18, 2015

By Tara Cox

Police deal with a late-night incident

The highlight this week was our Friday night stint with “Street Pastors” in Cambridge. The night has been christened “Black Eye Friday” due to activities in previous years. We did not see much violence this year but, of course plenty of over indulgence and consequent sickness and helplessness. We were in the Nightlite cafe which for the occasion was shared with 12 Territorial Army, 12 St John’s Ambulance, a couple of NHS and up to 20 police for the briefing. I guess it was based on previous experience but this year seemed a tad over the top. It was reasonably quiet up to midnight and not over populated after but those who were brought in were fairly serious cases with a few needing drips or ambulances to take them to A&E. One of the NHS men was from A&E and he said that 33% to 50% of cases admitted to A&E have mental problems and the system to treat them is failing badly.

Our worst case was brought in by the SPs at 3.30am and the TA turned him away saying it was too late so he was sent to us and the St John’s folk so instead of getting away at 4 am we were there until 4.40 am, bed at 5.30 am!. All in all the TA were not a great asset and there seemed to be too many not very useful people about, but some very sad cases came in and most were helped to a degree.

On Thursday our walk began at Ridgewell and took in Stoke-by-Clare where we were given mince pies and mulled wine by one of our members before walking back to via Baythorne End (where Esther might remember bailing out of the car!) to Ridgewell for a Christmas lunch.

U3A Ramblers being addressed by Philip

Baythorne End

I fetched a Christmas tree from Fenwick’s plantation on Tuesday. Richard planted about 200 several years ago and only sells a few each year. Consequently the remainder are about 15’ tall so have to be felled and cut to the required length. Still at £1 per foot are still the biggest bargain around.

Friday it was Ken Elsom’s 90^th and we dropped in for a drink and yesterday Carol Kitson reached 65.

I watched Over 3 v 2 Cambridge City Res. in shirt sleeves yesterday – unseasonable for the shortest day.

Christmas preparations seem to be well underway. We expect Esther and Ben for Christmas Day together with Adrian Hart, with Mary-Ann, Andy, Amelie and Bert late on Boxing Day.

Best wishes to everyone, We hope your Christmas and New Year go well.

Love

Mike & Kate

13^th December 2015.

Dear All,

We have been down to Hove this week as Andy has been in Dusseldorf. It was Amélie’s first Nativity Play and I was privileged to go along with Mary-Ann. There was a cast of thousands and Amélie was 6^th angel – but with the best halo and wings!

Bert continues to develop in a very solid way and is very serious about eating, sleeping and an occasional bellow. We were able to fit in a little Christmas shopping while we were there, mainly in the next street which is very handy.

Before that we completed teaching “Just Vegetating” this week covering “Oriental Vegetables” including birthday celebrations for one member and we were generously donated £75 worth of garden tokens. We were then asked for lunch at the Milbournes, Graham was one of the NIAB Directors and an enthusiastic member of the course.

Our Thursday walk was local starting at Oakington and taking in Longstanton, Rampton, Westwick and Histon. I did the “short” walk as my back was not 100% but it ended up as 9.7 miles so not that short!

Histon

In the evening we attended the Over Pantomime which this year was “Jack & the Beanstalk” and was very good.

Our last “Biographies” of the term featured a couple of quizzes, readings about winter and some snacks. In the evening I had my last Garden Club talk of the year (number 199 in total) at Barrow near Bury St Edmunds

Love

Mike & Kate

6th December 2015

6^th December 2015.

Dear All,

Not too much to report this week as I went to bed with slight back ache on Tuesday night and woke up in considerable discomfort on Wednesday and it took me about 15 minutes to get out of bed. I got a cancellation doctor’s appointment who ruled out gall stones, trapped nerves and slipped discs and diagnosed “just mechanical damage! – it could take 4 weeks, take these powerful painkillers” I have no idea where it came from or what triggered it but it has severely restricted my activities this week. Meanwhile I had generously passed the “man flu” on to Kate so we have been a rum pair this week.

We managed “Just Vegetating” on Tuesday but have missed Home Group, Walking, Biographies and Spanish – the latter because Kate’s tutor was also indisposed.

I did manage the Men’s breakfast yesterday which was well attended (23) and the speaker was Shaun, the manager of Over Community Centre who has been on a Mission to the Dominican Republic mainly building houses for people living in ghetto conditions.

Men’s Breakfast

So no gardening, no housework! but plenty of time for preparing Annual Reviews and Christmas letters etc. I hope things improve next week.

.....and here is one for Mary

Love

Mike & Kate