19th October 2025

 

           Dear All,

As a follow up to last week’s report of the Quiz for the Old Folks Day Centre we raised £1288.

 

 

Quiz underway

 

After our swim this week “10 Turning Points in European History” this week “The Age of European Exploration” all the boats setting out initially from Portugal and Spain searching for spices and spreading Christianity starting in the 1490s. Bartholomew Dias, Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama etc. Access to Spices was very lucrative with the prices expanding exponentially:

Spice Island 1

Malacca 2

Calicut, Indian 4

Alexandria 80

Venice 250

The Pope Alexander divided the world between Portugal (Africa) and Spain (South America) to try and stop them fighting.

On Tuesday after a trip to the dentist I met up with a few ex NIAB folk for lunch at Girton Golf Club and we were briefly joined by Tom Webster’s close friend Jock Sneddon who reached 100 years last month. Kate meanwhile was studying the Stars in her new U3A course. Later the outside drain blocked and while Kate puggled it free I made a new cover to stop the leaves entering again.

 

 

Drain Cover

 

On Wednesday I finished digging at the allotment and caned the Brussels sprouts and broccoli. Norman Ingle came for lunch and after I tuned into a U3A talk about “Cricket in Cambridgeshire”. In the evening the Over Garden club speaker was a Mr Honey who spoke on “Wasps”. It was a very interesting talk with some excellent visuals. There are evidently 9,000 species of wasp in the UK including social, solitary, burrowing and parasitic ranging from 0.5mm to 3.5cm. His message was do not kill them they do an enormous amount of good killing huge numbers of pests in your garden.

 

 

Bees, Wasps & Hornets

 

Kate has been busy planting a new strawberry bed from runners of the new variety we planted last year Malling Centineray.

 

Kate Strawberry Planting

 

Our walk this week was a familiar route from Orwell round the Wimpole Estate. We had good conditions for walking cool, dry and no wind. Masses of fallen leaves. Our old leader Philip Shaw put in an appearance as it was his 86^th birthday so drinks all round!

 

 

Orwell Clunch Pit

 

Wimpole Charcoal Burner

 

 

Wimpole Church

 

 

Wimpole Hall

 

 

 View of the Lake & Folly

 

 

Autumn Leaves

 

“Biographies” on Friday featured “Marie Curie”

She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. Her husband, Pierre Curie, was a co-winner of her first Nobel Prize, making them the first married couple to win the Nobel Prize and launching the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes. She was, in 1906, the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.

 

 

Marie Curie

The garden is still producing despite to continued lack of rain. The fig tree has produced a second crop and there has been a few late strawberries and raspberries.

 

 

Today’s Harvest

Best wishes

 

Mike & Kate

 

12th October 2025

 

           Dear All,

It has been quite a busy week in Lake Wobegon! It began Sunday afternoon when we were invited to a Tea Party at the Friends Meeting house for leaders of courses that are held there to meet a new warden. We were taught how to make roti and entertained by a choir.

 

 

Roti Demonstration

After swimming on Monday I caught the guided bus into Cambridge for a U3A class entitled: “10 Turning Points in European History” led by Adrian Roberts who is an ex teacher and excellent lecturer. The first session was on the invention of metal type printing initially by Joannes Gutenberg producing the Gutenberg Bible in 1453. Previously Bibles had been copied manually by monks in Scriptoriums written on vellum typically needing 170 calf skins or 300 sheep skins per copy. Gutenberg had a checkered career but the printing press soon spread throughout Europe with considerable effects on language, literacy, spread of knowledge and questioning beliefs.

Meanwhile Kate attended Ruth Roberts’s funeral.

 

On Tuesday we both had flu and Covid jabs and ironically Hilary Foster had the appointment between us at Bar Hill Tesco’s. Kate then had a Zoom session on the stars.

Wednesday was my regular outing to Lincolnshire for the Seed Trade open days. This year I was accompanied by David Cook from walking and Over locals Richard Cox and Adrian Hart. We managed to visit seven demonstrations. I was expecting some poor plots after the drought but was agreeably surprised by the standard of the plants. Apart from the usual brassicas there was a heavy presence of pumpkins and squash this time.

 

 

Seminis Purple Broccoli

 

 

Tozers Pumpkins & Squash

 

 

 Hazera & Clause Cabbage plots

 

 

Sakata Veg Display

 

 

Syngenta Coloured Cauliflowers

 

 Syngenta Brussels Sprout

 

 

Elsoms Veg Display

 

On Thursday Kate and I were leading the walk we recced last week from Haddenham taking in Wilburton. It was a good day for walking – cool and dry.

 

 

Wilburton Manor

  

 Farm Drainage

 

Not too Robust Bridge

  

Maple Tree changing colour

We did not have time for the pub lunch as I had another new class this time on “Travel Writers”. Kate dropped me off in town for discussion about the book I mentioned last week by the Victorian lady Mary Kingsley in West Africa. Everyone was impressed not only by her courage alone in a difficult climate surrounded by cannibals but also by the humour with which she wrote.

  

 Mary Kingsley

 

It was “Biography” time again on Friday with new leadership and a larger class. The first subject was “Captain Vancouver” who gave his name to the city and island in west Canada. He was probably born in Kings Lynn in 1757 and went to sea aged 14 on Captain Cook’s 2^nd voyage which lasted 3 years and went further south than anyone previously. He then enlisted for Cook’s 3^rd voyage looking for the NW Passage which took in Hawaii where Cook was welcomed as a god. However when he returned to repair a broken mast he was killed. Vancouver rose through the ranks to become a marine surveyor initially in NW America then Tasmania and New Zealand before returning to NW America where eventually the island and city were named after him and another guy who was gradually dropped from the name.

 

 

Captain Vancouver

 

Friday night was the quiz which we organise to raise money for the old peoples Day Centre in the village. Kate thinks up all the questions and I was Question master. There were 13 teams and over 100 attending. It has raised well over £1000 in the last two years but we do not have the figures for this year yet. This was our 16^th year as part of the chapels support for the Centre.

  

Quiz Gathering

 

Over came unstuck yesterday losing 1 v 0 to Newmarket Res.

 

Best wishes

 

Mike & Kate

 

6th October 2025

 

           Dear All,

It has been a fairly quiet week before U3A restarts next week. We have been autumn gardening most of the week, I have spent 3 days digging at the allotment and Kate has been weeding extensively. I have also planted Elephant Garlic, ordinary Garlic and autumn bulb onions. On Thursday Kate and I did a recce for a walk we are due to lead next week from Haddenham taking in Wilburton with loops north from both villages then a big swoop south of the two. It was a typical fen walk with some good parts and some ordinary stretches. As it was Haddenham we met up with Kate and Gordon for lunch and we also met Oli Wright in Wilburton. We managed to have a break at the 20 Pence Garden Centre which was seriously anticipating Halloween!

 

 

Wilburton Hut

 

 

Tudor House, Wilburton

 

 

Path out of Wilburton

 

 

Garden Centre Halloween Display

 

 

Drove near Haddenham

 

We stopped for coffee after the Tesco shop on Friday and former neighbour Lynn Medlock showed up followed by another former neighbour Malcolm Day who 54 years ago, mistakenly sent out honeymoon tickets back when they were delivered to the wrong “Mr M. Day!”

One of my U3A courses this term is “Travel Writing” and the first choice is “Travels in West Africa” by a Victorian lady called Mary Kingsley. It is a good read and another where you wonder how on ever she survived.

Our recent New Zealand visitors Derek and Tenise sent photos of their visit as well as one of his companion 40 years ago:

 

 

Kate, Derek & Mike

 

 

Lochie outside his chip shop

 

Over continued winning ways beating Swavesey 4 v 1 in a local Derby in which the real winner was the wind!

 

 

Best wishes

 

Mike & Kate