12^th August 2018

Dear All,

Street Pastors again last night – two weeks running as they were short of volunteers. It was one of those nights when you wonder whether there any normal people left in the world! The regulation bouncer on the door of Nightlite, the refuge café, did not materialise so they had to close early as they are not covered for insurance without a security man. The man imprisoned for attacking a SP was everywhere shouting his head off and talking nonsense in a loud voice and gradually getting drunker through the evening. We also had a “zombie” a bloke spaced out on drugs who initially couldn’t be roused, then when he got to his feet just stared into space without communicating. He eventually wandered off and we breathed a sigh of relief only to find him collapsed on the street, and it was beginning to rain. What to do? We eventually phoned for an ambulance only to be told it would be 5 hours! After a half an hour he roused himself and wandered off again and we checked later and did not find him – you don’t win them all!

It was Over Produce Show yesterday and despite the weather the entries were up. I got a few 1sts: the Collection, Sweet Corn, Melon and a photograph and several 2^nd and 3rds. I was 3^rd overall and won the new cup for the photography section.

Collection

Part of Veg Bench

Part of Home Baking Section

Part of Plant Section

Photography Cup

On Thursday we did not make the U3A walk as it was Shirley Unwin’s funeral at 2 pm. Instead we did a local walk round Swavesey and Over Fens.

River Ouse, Over Fen

We went to Cambridge on Tuesday to visit the newly refurbished Zoology Museum. It has been closed for 3 years while they have spent £3.67 m on a facelift. It was reopened by Sir David Attenborough in June and is now excellent.

Zoology Museum, Fin Whale Skeleton

Butterfly Display

We plan to travel to Stockholm tomorrow – thankfully not on RyanAir!

Love

Mike & Kate

5^th August 2018

Dear All,

So the drought goes on – the temporary relief of the heavy shower last week has now disappeared and it is back to brown grass and watering. It is Over Show next Saturday and it will be interesting to see what has survived – or who has been heavily watering!

I had a Vegetable Forum meeting at Wisley on Tuesday and Kate came with me to share the driving. The downward journey was OK but coming back there was am 60 minute queue at the Dartford tunnel which delayed us sufficiently to hit the Cambridge rush hour. We were judging Chinese cabbage, Shallots and Aubergines and all three trials were quite good. Wisley was looking well but I guess they lavish more TLC (and water) than most.

Chinese cabbage

Aubergines

Wisley Exotic Garden

Hanging basket Petunia trial

We walked the 5^th section of the Stour Valley Path on Thursday from Long Melford to Stoke-by-Clare via Glemsford, Cavendish and Clare. The villages are all full of chocolate box cottages but you do not see much of the river until you hit Clare. It was, of course, rather warm – a two water bottle day – but tolerable.

Cavendish

Clare

Stoke-by-Clare

Philip Shaw (our walk leader) came for a PowerPoint lesson on Friday as he has to give a talk on their recent cruise round South America, with some emphasis on geology and the Andes, this brought back memories of Ecuador.

We dug the remaining main crop potatoes (Rooster) this week – good quality and low yield are the norm this year, but they should keep well.

We were on Street Patrol on Friday night. It was shirt sleeve weather all night and although not terribly busy we had five serious intoxicated individuals to deal with. The worst case was a 25 year old woman was very upset and initially would only talk to a street life lady with a dog. It later transpired that she claimed to have been raped earlier in the evening. An Irish lad from Galway had been helping with harvest at Warboys and was due to return home this weekend but claimed he had spent £300 and rather over indulged! Being Irish he remained cheerful even though he was rather sick and had trouble walking in straight lines.

Ben was in Stockholm last weekend, Esther and Emma this week and we are due on the 13^th. All are entrusted with luggage to bring back as Mary-Ann and the children are returning at the end of the month to re-enrol Amélie in school in Hove.

Love

Mike & Kate

29th July 2018

Dear All,

We have just said goodbye to Jonny, Rosie, Charlie & Danny who have stayed the night en route to Grimes Graves and some serious flint knapping activity. It was good to catch up as we hadn’t seen them since my 70^th.

Yesterday was our annual chapel outing to Hunstanton and as predicted it was effective in changing the weather. We had some cry off because they thought it would be too hot and some because they thought it would be too wet and windy. In the event it was windy but remained dry. The church that we use for assembling and lunch had, however, been flooded downstairs by a thunderstorm the previous night. As this is the room we usually use we were transferred to their upstairs meeting area. Only 14 eventually made Hunstanton but the number was more than doubled for the usual BBQ at Haddenham on the way back.

Hunstanton Parched Grass

New Hunstanton Beach – Tide Receding

New Hunstanton Cliffs

After about 230 Garden Club talks I have a booking that insists that my laptop and projector should be PAT tested. This was routine at work but getting an electrician locally to test a small number of items proved a 10 phone call challenge. The companies were either large and wanted to charge for half a day’s call out or small and out of business or not at home to answer phone calls. Eventually Geoff Pake a local Willingham Farmer/electrician did it in about 10 minutes for £10.

Our Thursday walk started at Hexton neat Hitchin on the edge of the Chilterns. It was very hot but the scenery was excellent climbing a couple of chalk hills.

The Raven, Hexton

Valley in front of Deacon Hill

Barton Hill

Scottish Thistle

My cricket pitch preparing colleague John Lane, returned from completing the “Camino” on his bike and very impressed with the route and the set up, with frequent hostels for the pilgrims on the way. We have a county youth fixture to prepare for this week but The Green is already looking better after the rain.

We have a 10 ft self- set sunflower amongst our beans – either that or Kate has shrunk!

Love

Mike & Kate

22nd July 2018

Dear All,

We still haven’t received any rain for seven weeks now and it is beginning to look like it! Our Thursday stroll started at Leighton Bromswold which is north of the A14 near Graffham Water. The soil is heavy in that area, but I have not seen cracking like it: 2” wide and 2’ deep – which made for very careful walking. The village pub “The Green Man” is one of the oldest in the country and the landlord copes with an influx of walkers by preparing a huge vat of stew – not ideal for a hot day but a useful tradition.

Mega cracks

The Green Man, Leighton Bromswold

Looking towards the A14 & Spaldwick

My computer screen packed up on Monday – not something that I have experienced before so we had a rare shopping outing on Tuesday to replace it in Milton as well as buying replacement hoe blades in Fulbourn and a new sprayer at Horningsea.

Cricket pitch preparation is currently a challenge, I spent 2 hours cutting rolling and marking out on Wednesday only to find the opposition had called off the minute I got home. My pitch preparing colleague John Lane is away on another of his marathon bike rides, this time to Santiago de Compestella following the “Camino” pilgrim’s route across northern Spain. He writes a blog each day under www.crazyguyonabike.com should you wish to check his progress.

On Wednesday night Kate and I went to see Milton Jones in the Cambridge Comedy Festival at The Junction. Milton was excellent “I come from a family of failed magicians – I have got two half-sisters!” without one swear word. Also on the bill were Ian Stone an experienced Jewish comedian and Stephano Paolini an Anglo Italian impressionist with an Irish compere Michael Legge. They were all good but language from a couple of these was more colourful which was a bit off putting.

Milton Jones

We had another meeting of the Over Show committee on Thursday evening. It is planned with meticulous care these days now that the old boys from the British Legion have handed responsibility to the Garden club. Whether the weather will allow many entries this year remains to be seen.

Otherwise in the garden we have harvested quite a lot and watered quite a lot – most things are surviving – just but not sure for how much longer!

Love

Mike & Kate

15th July 2018

Dear All,

It was Over Carnival time yesterday and as usual we had a chapel stand which did good business despite the football and the tennis. We have just returned from the Sunday morning litter picking. We had a quiz based on Children’s book characters – Milly Molly Mandy and The Little Princess were the main stumbling blocks. There was also the now famous throwing bean bags into pots game, a children’s activity area with free Goodie bags and a rest for the weary section!

Carnival Parade

Chapel Stand

Game

Quiz

Funfare

On Wednesday Kate and I visited the National Race Horse Museum at Newmarket. It was rehashed a couple of years ago and is now excellent – even if you are not much into racing or horses. It has displays of painting, sculptures and artefacts plus live horses demonstrating the work of a charity which retrains most of the 3,000 race horses that are retired each year.

Retired Race horse Purple Moon

Frankel Statue

I had a trip to Houghton Conquest, near Bedford for a Garden Club talk on Tuesday so missed the first semi-final.

Our Thursday walk was fairly local starting at Barrington, and taking in Harston and Haslingfield, skirting the now defunct chalk pits which are being filled in with some of the soil from the new Crossrail Link.

Barrington Pit

Maize showing drought symptoms

I sent the photo I used in the letter two weeks ago of cattle standing in the River Stour to the Cambridge News and on Thursday it was featured as the centre fold spread – you saw it first!

Half the picture

Love

Mike & Kate