26th February 2023

 

Dear All,

The undoubted highlight this week was the visit of my brother, sister and brother-in-law on Tuesday! We caught the guided bus to St Ives for lunch at Wetherspoons then explored the town a little taking in the refurbished museum, river, church and quay before returning to Over for chat and tea. Unfortunately, David in particular got caught up in the traffic delays at Longstanton following a nasty accident involving a car, van and motor cyclist who was collected in the air ambulance.

 

 

Chez Wetherspoons

 

 On the Riverbank

 

Museum Skating Exhibit

 

On Monday “Just Vegetating” covered Legumes and Kate produced Mixed Bean Masala, Stir fried Runner beans with Hazelnuts and Pasta with Pea Pesto,

I cut the grass for the first time and dug a row of late Parsnips from Elsom’s garden. Sadly, Ken is now in a home so I guess this will be my last gardening action there.

On Wednesday after entertaining Norman Ingle for lunch and church group at Kitson’s we had a succession of visitors: Mervyn followed by Rachel, Grace, Arthur and Nathan then Lorna – at one stage all together.

Thursdays walk started at Harlton and took in Little and great Eversden, the Wimpole Estate, Orwell and Barrington. It was pretty good going despite over night rain and included a few more hills than most Cambridgeshire walks. The ancient Mulberry tree pictured below was one of 10,000 planted by order of King James 1 in an effort to promote the silk industry in Britain. Unfortunately, he imported black mulberries rather than white so it did not work.

 

Orwell Clunch Pits

  

Orwell Church

 

 Orwell Ancient Mulberry Tree planted 17^th Century

  

Harlton Clunch Pit

 

On Friday our “Biographies” leader was down with Covid so I was in charge again for a presentation by a physics teacher on Richard Feynman he was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as his work in particle physics for which he proposed the parton model. – got that? He also worked at Los Alamos on the development of the Atomic bomb and received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1965.

 

 

Richard Feynman

 

I decided to replace 3 broken sheets of glass in the greenhouses this week. It used to be fairly easy as there was a supplier on Over Industrial site but sadly he is ill and the business is suspended. This meant ordering from Go Glass in Cambridge and collecting from Pampisford 23 miles away. Two small sheets and one large one cost an unbelievable £90! – and I only cut my finger once removing the old glass!

The curtain saga took and step this week as they contacted Kate to say the material was ready for collection which we arranged to do on Friday but when Kate checked they had not included the lining and heading tape – yes, they would correct this – only to find they had run out!

Over had a great win yesterday beating Foxton several places above them in the league 4 v 0. In the evening we were invited to a meal at Jenny and Tony Miles.

The Cambridge News photos this week featured “Farm Animals” and I submitted:

 

 Lambs in North Wales

 

Love

Mike & Kate

 

 

 

19th February 2023

 

Dear All,

Following John Law’s request for cash to support the relief work in Turkey I did a presentation in last Sunday’s morning service and was surprised to raise £1,175 by Tuesday. This was sent off straightaway and has already been used to feed refugees. Many people prefer to give to a cause where they know the personalities rather than to a general appeal.

Just Vegetating covered “Salads – Fruit” this week and Kate produced Stuffed Peppers, Courgette cake and Strawberry and Tomato salad.

We had an outing to Chippenham Park near Newmarket on Wednesday and it exceeded our expectations as the snowdrops, aconites and iris were spectacular.

 

 

 

 

Chippenham Hall

 

 

Sculptures

 

We attended Over Gardening Club in the evening where the topic was “Dry Gardening”.

Our walk on Thursday was a new venue “The Biggleswade Green Wheel”. The town council have recently joined up paths to circle the town taking in Jordan’s Mill and the River Ivel. It was not the most scenic route but dry underfoot and quite interesting.

 

 

Green Wheel Sign

 

 

Jordan’s Mill

 

 

River Ivel

 

It was my first serious outing after more than a week’s coughing and I was glad to make it round 8.5 miles but was not too frisky afterwards!

“Biographies” subject this week was “Robert Hooke” he was an English polymath active as a scientist, natural philosopher and architect, who is credited to be one of two scientists to discover microorganisms in 1665 using a compound microscope that he built himself. He was the first to name cells. He helped Christopher Wren with the rebuilding of London after the great fire and probably was responsible for many buildings for which Wren got the credit. He was however argumentative and fell out with many contemporaries especially Isaac Newton who disliked him so much he was attributed with destroying all portraits of Hooke. His diaries discovered after his death also revealed a rather sordid private life which did not help his reputation.

 

 

Hooke’s Microscope.

Kate eventually managed to order the chapel curtains – not without a further hitch in the long running saga! We then were invited to lunch with Sean an Irish member of our walking group, he is a typical loquacious Irishman so conversation was not too difficult.

The Cambridge News topic this week was “Reflections” and I had a photo of Clonakilty Bay, Co, Cork.

 

 

Clonakilty Bay

 

Love

Mike & Kate

 

 

 

12th February 2023

 

Dear All,

Not too much to report this week as I have been largely confined to barracks with what could be lightly dismissed as a seasonal cough. However the cough I had suffered last month was a light prelude to this one which at times felt like it was turning me inside out! – still that’s a man for you!

I managed the swim Monday and “Just Vegetating” which this week was “Salads – Green” and Kate prepared a mixed leaf salad with various toppings: candied nuts, seeds, flower petals, pomegranate and a couple of dressings as well as braised celery with cheese topping.

In the evening for light relief she took Lorna for yet another hospital appointment at Hinchinbrook.

I managed a little digging on Tuesday where beetroot had finished and over wintered Broad beans had perished due to a combination of muntjac and frost. I joined 3 walking mates for lunch at the Poacher in Elsworth and in the evening held a CEEM Zoom to agree on flights to Moldova, which were subsequently booked for the last week in April -PP (Putin Permitting!). Arthur came on his own after school and was much better behaved this week.

I had planned to help Adrian with a bit more digging on Wednesday but after a rough night decided to miss out followed by a similar decision for Thursday’s walk. Kate did however go and this week’s photos are down to her. They started at a very quaint pub in Withersfield near Haverill and journeyed via Burton End and West Wickham.

 

 

The White Horse, Withersfield

 

 

Old Nissen Huts near Withersfield

 

 

Burton End

 

 

Gnarled Tree

 

I managed to get to “Biographies” on Friday as I had the PowerPoint on my laptop. The subject was “Michelangelo” presented by Vivian Perutz daughter of Max Perutz of Nobel fame. She had assembled 43 slides so it was well illustrated! . He started off as a poet and sculptor and was bullied into painting by various Popes and Medici’s. The Sistine chapel roof took him 4 years.

 

 Michelangelo

 

Esther and Emma paid a visit on Friday for lunch and dinner and Esther spent most of the time in between cleaning the house. A welcome service for aged parents! My bathroom now positively glows and smells of roses! – I hardly like to use it!

  

Help The Aged!

 

Kate has patiently worked at a second jigsaw since Christmas and wishes it to be known that this isn’t how she spends most of her time!

 

 

 

Kate & Puzzle

 

This weeks dreadful earthquake was 200 miles from where John Law is now living on the Turkey/Syria border at Mercin. They heard the noise and have been hosting refugees who arrived in pyjamas! The photos he has sent are devastating. Relief is gradually being organised but volunteer hosts have to find the money for food themselves so he is appealing for money.

 

 

I decided football yesterday would not improve my cough but did make the Men’s Breakfast as the speaker was Norman Ingle who related his experiences as a Magistrates Court Recorder.

 

Love

Mike & Kate

 

5th February 2023

 

Dear All,

Monday’s swim was followed by “Just Vegetating” this week: Brassicas. Kate prepared Cauliflower curry, Swede in honey with hazelnuts and Cabbage and carrot stir fry. Afterwards I pricked out the first Tomatoes, Cabbage, Cauliflowers and Lettuce and sowed peas in gutters.

I had a couple of days digging at the allotment as winter Brassicas had all perished for the first time in recent memory. We entertained Arthur and Grace after school on Tuesday as Rachel seems to be struggling at present. The combination of his first year at school and becoming a middle child with the advent of a new baby have not improved Arthur’s behaviour but I guess it is understandable.

On Wednesday Norman Ingle was here for lunch as usual then in the evening the CEEM committee met here for dinner followed by a meeting, so Kate has had an exacting cooking week. The meeting was encouraging as Gordon Foster has joined to oversee financial matters and we hope to return to Moldova this year if things work out OK.

Kate and I were leading one of the walks on Thursday starting at Therfield north of Royston then heading south through Kelshall, Sandon, Chapel Green and Hay Green. After a recce the previous week we had planned a route to avoid the worst of the mud even though this meant a little more road walking than we would like. In the event, after a dry week the going underfoot was reasonable and we spotted a herd of deer which is always an event.

  

Near Kelshall

 

 

Sandon

  

Sandon Church Lytch Gate

  

Sandon Manor Dovecote

 

Both Adrian and Lorna called in the afternoon and I had a Medical Prescriptions review which involved a 45-minute wait in the surgery! – a good of making your life seem longer!

I was in charge of “Biographies” on Friday as our leader was cut off in Hitchin courtesy of ASLEF. The topic was “Rosalind Franklin” the scientist denied a Nobel Prize when Crick, Watson and Wilkins received theirs for the discovery of the DNA double helix. It was an interesting session not least because one of our members is Vivian Perrutz the daughter of Max Perrutz one of the gentleman reported to be involved with the Nobel decision! Sadly Rosalind was careless with the radiation used in the experiments and contacted cancer and died aged only 38.

 

 

Rosalind Franklin

 

The garden was dry enough for serious weeding yesterday so I tidied up the garlic, shallots and onions and transplanted the surviving Broad beans.

Football was quite exciting: Over 3 v 3 Newmarket Reserves with a couple of really good goals. We missed most of Friday’s family Zoom call after our visitors and a delayed trip to Tesco’s but we gathered that Ben is off on his travels again next weekend this time to Budapest.

We have been sending John Law in Turkey English language books on a regular basis and this week we received some Turkish delicacies in the form of a mixed fruit and nuts selection and something that looks like jelly sausages with pistachio nuts inside!

  

 

Love

Mike & Kate

 

29th January 2023

 

Dear All,

It was a -7°C start to the week and on Monday you tend to think “Do I really want to go for a swim?” but when you go with friends you get carried away with the group momentum! The pool was a reasonable temperature and only 10 participants so a not unpleasant experience. Mervyn is very good and takes us into Cambridge after swimming and drops us outside the Friends Meeting House for “Just Vegetating”. This week it was “Alliums” and Kate produced Shallot tartin, Sauerkraut, Leek and cheese bake and Red Onion and cucumber salad.

On Tuesday we did a recce at Therfield for a walk we are leading next week. The ground was still frozen but we planned to avoid some potentially very muddy stretches now that it has thawed. One highlight was spotting a white pheasant – something I have never seen before.

 

 

White Pheasant

 

 

 Potential Hazard

 

Norman Ingle was here again for lunch on Wednesday before church group discussion at the Kitson’s. The Day Centre sent an email asking whether we would like to present two quizzes this year and would I give a talk on gardening to the inmates. The answers were no – too much work and yes – but how to entertain geriatrics with hearing difficulties!

The Thursday walk was more demanding than Tuesday as the top inch had thawed and the going was sticky but not too bad as it was still solid below. We started at Shepreth and took in Fowlmere, Foxton and Barrington.

 

 

9 Furrow Reversible Plough

 

 

 

Foxton

 

 

Shepreth Mill

The Biography subject on Friday was Lachlan Macquarie who was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, and had a leading role in the social, economic, and architectural development of the colony. He had served in India and Egypt before Australia where he had a difficult job running the colony only 21 years after the first convicts were landed.

 

 

Lachlan Macquarie

 

I have started pricking out the first chitted seeds once the compost had thawed. On the allotment virtually all the winter brassicas have been wiped out so I had the indignity of buying a cabbage for Just Vegetating next Monday. I did manage to harvest parsnips and leeks which have survived reasonably well.

I watched Over Res 0 v 1 Cottenham 1^st yesterday, Over are a young team and played well only to loose to a silly penalty. Meanwhile Kate attended a Dementia training day at Warboys led by a lady doctor who has suffered with the disease for 12 years.

The Cambridge News topic this week was “Puddles” and I had two published – both from Over Fen.

 

 

After Sugar Beet

 

 

Cattle Paddling

 

Love

Mike & Kate