16th January 2022

 

Dear All,

Back to swimming on Monday and walking on Thursday. The pool was up to 29°C and still plenty of room with only 10 swimming.

Arthur was here again on Tuesday morning taking a great interest in our new cooker being installed. The ceramic hobs mean that it is very quick even though a new set of saucepans was needed.

 

 

New Oven & Pans

 

Kate had another Addenbrooke’s trip on Wednesday this time for a mammogram – no results from anything yet.

In the evening we met Phil Bowes at Eaton Socon for a meal and Moldova catch up followed by a PM at St Neots.

I rediscovered the notes I made for the eulogy for Dad’s funeral and typed them up as Ben having read my story wanted to know more about the previous generation. There are no prizes for spotting mistakes but it has been pointed out that I left Robbie and Danny off of the great children list.

The Thursday walk started at Guilden Morden and touched Ashwell and Steeple Morden. It was an excellent sunny day but very sticky under foot and beginning with a 100-acre field was not ideal! You could say I was fatigued after!

 

 Winter walking

 

Guilden Morden

 

I have pricked out lettuce, onions, mustard, tomatoes and rocket so far – probably all too early but having germinated the seeds it is hard to throw them away. In addition, we purchased seed potatoes on Friday and set them up for chitting and purchased onion sets for spring planting.

U3A “Just Vegetating” should start tomorrow so I have been updating the talks and Kate has been sorting new recipes.

Ben seems to have recovered well from Covid and was released from confinement Friday.

Esther and Emma are at Hove for the weekend to help Mary-Ann celebrate her birthday

I watched Over 2 v 1 Foxton Saturday afternoon with the winning goal coming 2 minutes from the end of a rather chilly watch!

The Cambridge News photo theme this week was patterns and submitted a tray of Romanescos

 

 

Romanesco Cauliflowers

With love

Mike & Kate

 

9th January 2022

 

Dear All,

A fairly quiet week after the excitement of Christmas – it always seems a little solemn when the decorations come down. These are the tree decorations we painted under E & E’s directions:

 

 

Christmas tree decorations

 

I have assembled the home-made propagator this week checking seed germinations and pricking out some that might survive at this time of the year.

 

Heath Robinson Propagator

 

We have pruned apple and pear trees when the sun was shining in the early part of the week.

 

We missed our Thursday walk this week as Kate had an appointment at Addenbrooke’s for a bone density scan but we had done shorter local walks on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We spotted a group of deer in Over Fen and as usual plenty of evidence of badger activity. While Kate was at Addenbrooke’s Adrian called for an hour and Lorna called for an hour so I did not get much done. In addition, we called on Janet and Jim who had his “National Service in Aden” album out and full of reminiscences.

 

Over Middle Way

 

 

Deer in Over Fen

 

Active Badger sett in Middle Way

 

 

 

Muddy Avenue to the Gravel

I have been updating my presentations for “Just Vegetating” which should start in a couple of weeks.

The weather has been rather depressing towards the end of the week but we decided to brave it and watched Hemingford 2 v 3 Cherry Hinton in challenging conditions.

Our Jig Saw count this period has risen to 7

 

 

7^th Puzzle

Star plant this week is a new Amaryllis which we collected at a talk at Over Garden Club last year. It produces multiple flowers from a single bulb.

 

 

Amaryllis

 

 

Ben has succumbed to Covid and was distinctly croaky on the family Zoom Friday night. It cannot be much fun when you live on your own.

With love

Mike & Kate

 

2^nd January 2022

 

Dear All,

Happy New Year to you all. Christmas was enjoyable and fairly vintage: 9 people for 4 or 5 days, Santa filled stockings for the young and impressionable, a plethora of games, 4 jigsaws, a quiz, a walk, service Zoom or live, and of course excellent food.

Ben arrived on his bike on Wednesday but his panniers were so heavy that he completed his journey from Hitchin on the train. Going back something disintegrated on the bike and he had to catch a train again, this time from Baldock. Mary-Ann, Andy, Amḗlie and Albert arrived 6ish on Thursday as expected and Esther and Emma unexpectedly later that night.

Every gathering needs an Esther to not only occupy the children but arrive laden with games. This year we were introduced to Whoonu, Confident, Dog Bingo, Colour Brain and Qwirkle. We already owned CodeNames and Ipswich Monopoly and of course there was the more familiar Skinny, Rummikub, Upwords, Oh Hell and for the children Ring on a string, Hunt the thimble, Hide & Seek, Kim’s Game and Dead Lions (very popular with the adults!).

Esther & Emma also brought Christmas decorations to paint, paper chains, a Lego music box and transfers – I ended up with a gingerbread man on my bald patch which caused a certain amount of comment in the service!

Mary-Ann knowing her father’s weakness for Tunis cake had jibbed at the smaller size and increased price in Tesco’s and made her own which was well received. Kate has cooked the ham to perfection as usual – such a pity there were so many vegetarians! Andy made a nutloaf in a squash for their Christmas lunch. Andy walked to St Ives and back each day (once accompanied by M-A) and Ben ran each day.

.

 Decoration Painting

 

Homemade Tunis Cake

  

Concentration

 

Puzzle Meister

 

 

Decorating Grandpa

 

 

Dead Lions

 

 

Hopeful children - & some adults!

 

 

Christmas Lunch

 

Two car loads left Monday and Ben on Tuesday – initially in drizzle.

 

 

Easy Rider

 

I had a physio appointment in Ely on Wednesday for a painful wrist. Ironically, I had been suffering with lower back pain since Monday but as I had not been referred for that it could not be addressed. Our cooker door started to disintegrate this week so we ordered a replacement cooker in Ely on Thursday, then it was Bar hill Tesco’s Friday – don’t say we don’t get around!

Norman Ingle thinned a hedge so I was invited to collect the wood and that has now been sawn into logs.

Neither of us made midnight to see the New Year in, although there were enough fireworks to make sure we didn’t sleep through it!

 

With love

Mike & Kate

 

19^th December 2021

 

Dear All,

The Christmas tree is now in place – a 6-footer from Fenwick’s finest still retailing at £2 per foot! Next year could be problematic at the plantation now seems to consist of 2’ or 20’ specimens!

 

 

After swimming on Monday, we restocked the new fish tank with mainly Neon and Glowlight Tetras. On Tuesday Arthur’s session was followed by a visit from a man offering a free service of our solar panels, of course he found something lacking claiming we need a voltage regulator – something his firm happens to specialise in!

 

Glowlight Tetra’s

 

Midweek we cut down and logged the Apricot tree in the front garden. It had performed well until a couple of years ago when it started to lose boughs with disease and increasingly shaded the front garden and threw out more and more suckers.

 

 

Apricot Tree

 

 

Cleared site

 

 

First Log Barrow

 

Our walking group had a Christmas gathering on Thursday walking along the River Cam from Magdalene Bridge to Baits Bite Lock at Horningsea then back along the other side of the river. This was followed by a meal in “La Mimosa” an Italian restaurant with a slightly different menu. I had creamed mushrooms, Brisket and Panettoni in chocolate.

 

 

River Cam

 

 

Class of 2021

 

The Cam at Fen Ditton

 

The final session of Biographies included seasonal readings, a quiz and nibbles which went quite well.

Adrian turned up in the afternoon with a large basket full of edible goodies.

Mary-Ann had posted videos of Amḗlie and Albert’s Christmas plays on WhatsApp which were filmed as audiences were not allowed. I am not sure that either of them enjoyed their performances but their grandparents were very pleased to see them!

Esther & Emma’s Garden room has taken shape during the week and is almost completed.

 

19 Alpha Road Air B&B?

Amḗlie continues to show her artistic capabilities having completed a model of a WW2 bunker for a school project.

 

 

Model Bunker

Over’s match was called off as the pitch was deemed unfit – or was it because they were due to play a team that scored 12 the week before and they had a few injured players? We watched Swavesey 4 v 0 Sawston instead.

 

With love

Mike & Kate

 

12^th December 2021

 

Dear All,

Christmas preparations gently accelerating with Kate cooking a cake, assembling other cakes, we have sent a few dozen cards, wrapped presents and an had outing to choose a tree. Arthur came with us on Tuesday to choose a tree from Richard Fenwick’s fast diminishing plantation. The system is that you tie a label on the tree of your choice and he delivers it later. It was a rather chilly morning and Arthur seemed to change colour from pink to blue as we walked down Mustills Lane but he is a placid child and doesn’t complain and especially enjoyed checking the depth of each puddle.

Our old lodger South African Cathy was in church Sunday and came for lunch. She now works at Addenbrooke’s so we had a full catch up on the strains of working for the NHS.

Another swimming session with the pool nearly to ourselves on Monday – just 7 in total.

The new fish tank has been filled, planted and the fish transferred. It looks good but the small fish did not take kindly to the change in water so the numbers are reduced.

 

 

My CEEM colleague Terry has managed to send more money to Moldova this week after considerable difficulties. He had his card blocked three time for “suspicious activities”.

On Wednesday I managed another loaf of bread then our History session featured Aethelwulf, Aethelbald, Aethelberht, Aethelred & Alfred (who probably had his name shortened from Aethelfred!). Need I say more?

 

 Our scheduled walk leader on Thursday had to drop out with a leg problem so Kate and I were drafted in. The walk started at Orwell and took in Harlton, Little and Great Eversden. The weather was fine and the route included Harlton Clunch Pit which is an attractive wooded depression. Wildlife featured several Red Kites and some fieldfares which have been scarce round here this year.

 

 

Harlton Clunch Pit

 

Little Eversden

 

 

Grreat Eversden church

 

After the walk we were pleased to see Adrian for the second time in the week and Glynis and Mossy who was looking commendably clean for a white dog on a mucky day.

Biographies this week featured Lady Elizabeth Butler, she was a British painter, who specialised in painting scenes from British military campaigns and battles, including the Crimean War and the Napoleonic Wars. She also painted the famous picture of the lone survivor of the massacre in the Khyber Pass. Even though she was the best painter around she was refused membership to the Royal Academy as she was a woman!

 

 

Lady Elizabeth Butler

 

 

The Remnants of an Army

 

Scotland Forever

 

Jan Few, a local character from Willingham called Friday afternoon, he had just returned from Tenerife and nearly missed his plane as the coach was delayed and as he rushed through check in, they failed to give him a Boarding Pass so he was sent back to check in and had to go through security again and in his haste left his mobile phone in the tray. He is not keen to go abroad again!

The garden is still productive and yesterday I harvested sprouts, leeks, celeriac, parsnips and beetroot.

I watched Linton 3 v 3 Over yesterday a reasonable result but disappointing as Over were 3 v 0 up and conceded the equaliser in the last minute

 

With love

Mike & Kate