2^nd November 2025

 

           Dear All,

After swimming on Monday the “10 Turning Points in European History” topic was 1565 “The Nest of Vipers” the Ottoman Turks attempt to conquer Malta. The Ottoman Empire had expanded rapidly under Selim 1 and Suleiman the Magnificent but The Knights of St John had been expelled from Rhodes and settled in Malta. From there they harassed the Ottoman trading ships so Suleiman decided to obliterate them, sending 25,000 men in 300 ships. If he has succeeded the Ottomans would have taken Spain and more besides. However the Knights, together with local Maltese and the Spanish infantry managed to defeat them thus stopping the spread of Islam in Europe. The Knights of St John eventually evolved into the St John’s Ambulance organisation.

 

 

In the afternoon it was another funeral this time for Dr Peter Friend the father of one of my cricket colleagues and an eminent geologist. I had never been in a room with about 200 geologists before and kept thinking about Bert in the “Big Bang Theory”.

As we were expecting visitors on Thursday we decided to walk on Tuesday carrying out a recce from Cottenham to Rampton for a walk we are due to lead next week. I entitled the photos “I Spy Fly Tipping – with the odd burnt out car!” It is a favourite area for Travellers to off load items so perhaps not the most scenic walk we have ever done! We did see a pair of Roe Deer and the bushes were laden with sloes.

 

 

Fen Potato field

 

 

Fly Tip No.1

 

 

 

Sloes

 

 

Friendly Ponies

 

On Thursday we entertained most of the Burrell family who moved from Over to Norwich last year. We were expecting them early as this has happened before but in fact they went straight to the Community Centre and met up with some other folks and we joined them for Lunch. They came back to us in the afternoon. They were not here for very long so the house recovered quite quickly!

 

 

Grace & Kate

 

 

Rachel, Arthur & Nathan

The Biography topic on Friday was “Martin Luther” who had been the subject of “10 Turning Points” the previous week so deja view again!

 

 

Martin Luther

 

In the evening we had a CEEM meeting at Geoff and Janet Pake’s to receive a report from the group who went to Moldova in September as well as plan next year’s visits. CEEM is due to change its name to “Moldova Matters Ltd”

In the garden this week I have removed and dug the outdoor tomato area and we now have quite a haul of green tomatoes. The salad crops in the greenhouse are coming along quite well.

 

 

Winter Salad Crops.

 

Over did not have a match yesterday so I went to the new Cambridge City stadium at Sawston to watch City Reserves v West Wratting with David and Mervyn.

 

 

Cambridge City FC

 

Best wishes

 

Mike & Kate

 

16th November 2025

 

           Dear All,

Five trains, six buses and quite a bit of shoe leather this week – but you have to try and be active at our age!

We had an excellent short stay in Edinburgh visiting the castle, Camera Obscura, Grassmarket, St Giles Cathedral, The Scottish Storey Telling Centre and Calton Hill the first day which was also Remembrance Day so kilts of all colours in the Royal Mile.

 

 

Edinburgh Castle

 

 

Mons Meg Cannon

 

 

Colourful Parade

 

 

Dugald Stewart Memorial

 

 

National Monument of Scotland

 

On the second day we caught a bus up to the Botanic Gardens which were alive with autumn colours the walked back via the Water of Leith Walk and Stockbridge visiting the National Portrait Gallery, George Street and the Princes Street Gardens, The weather was reasonably kind with rain on Sunday morning then fine for the rest of the stay.

 

 

Chinese garden

 

 

Colourful Bush

 

 

Earth Star fungus

 

After church group on Wednesday I planted Broad beans.

Our Thursday walk started at Barrington which has one of the largest village Greens in the country then took in Harlton including the old clunch pits. Again we were fortunate with the weather.

 

 

House on Barrington Green

 

 

Harlton Clunch Pit

 

 

Ian & Kate climbing out of Barrington

 

After the walk I had to dash to Cambridge for the second session of “Travel Writers”. We had been reading “Travels with a Tangerine” in which Tim Mackintosh-Smith traced to journeys of Ibn Battuta a 14^th century Moroccan Islamic traveller who covered 75,000 miles round the Arab world then Turkey, India and eventually China picking up 10 wives en route – but only 4 at a time! It was a good read but plenty long enough and the Arab names took some digesting – they were described as “magniloquent”. It was a longish day as in the evening I was at the Over Show AGM and Committee meeting!

On Friday the Biographies subject was “Lord Victor Rothschild” he was a British scientist, intelligence officer during World War II, and later a senior executive with Royal Dutch Shell and N M Rothschild & Sons, and an advisor to the Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher governments of the UK. He was a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family.

 

 

Victor Rothschild

The drought seems to have broken with 53mm in 2 days this weekend. Over Village pond has thankfully started to refill.

I watched Over 3 v 0 Wisbech St Mary Saturday afternoon in a chilly drizzle.

News from Hove Mary-Ann has risen to the top of the Allotment waiting list after only 6.5 years!

Sad news from Moldova concerning Matius a young lad of about 20 years old that I have known from nearly the beginning of my visits. He runs a football school and has been diagnosed with leukaemia which will entail expensive treatment in Turkey.

 

Best wishes

 

Mike & Kate

 

26th October 2025

 

           Dear All,

After swimming on Monday the “10 Turning Points in European History” topic was “1517 Martin Luther and the breaking of Christianity”. Luther was fortunate to survive when others like Jan Hus were executed but he was protected by his local ruler Frederick the Wise, the Holy Roman emperor Charles V was preoccupied by other issues, many other German rulers found what he said appealing and printing was getting underway and people could read his arguments.

I had an Events Committee in the evening where we reviewed the last year’s events and planned a Games Evening in November.

The Local History session on Tuesday was entitled: “Bedrooms, Banquets and Balls” given by a very good speaker where he traced the changes in stately houses through the ages and how they altered both externally and internally. Esther arrived in the evening staying for the night as she had a work session at Orwell where a manufacturer was demonstrating various bed and chair aids for handicapped people. Unhappily someone ran into the back of her car on the way home which understandably shook her up. I believe the car is only superficially damaged.

I was gardening on Wednesday clearing the greenhouse tomatoes and barrowing compost then sowing Broad beans direct and in modules. I also scarified the lawn.

The weather was so foul on Thursday morning that we skipped the organised walk. We had 14mm rain the most in a day since March 15^th. However it was the wind that was most off putting. It actually blew down an ivy laden tree at the bottom of our garden.

 

 

Stricken Tree

 

Thursday Mornings Weather!

 

However the weather improved dramatically in the afternoon so we did a local walk via the village pond and Mustill’s Lane allotments. The pond is causing concern as it is practically empty and there is a worry that nearby building work has blocked off a spring.

 

 

Dried up Pond

 

 

Colourful Allotment

 

 

Tidiest Allotment

On the way back we called on Tony and Jenny Miles. Tony is now painfully thin and being kept going by blood transfusions.

The “Biographies” subject on Friday was “Kitty Duchess of Atholl”. She was the first woman to be elected as a Member of Parliament in Scotland, despite having campaigned against women's suffrage before it was granted in 1918. She was the first woman to serve in a British Conservative government. She later found herself at odds with her party and resigned the Whip in 1935 over the India Bill. She became strongly anti-fascist in the 1930s and criticised authoritarian regimes in Soviet Russia, Italy and Spain as well as Nazi Germany. She was given the nickname 'Red Duchess' for these views .She was an incredible woman who served on countless committees and held views ahead of her time – but hardly anyone has heard of her.

 

 

Kitty Duchess of Atholl

Over won 3 v 0 at Milton which I watched without my mate Dave as he has a combination of Alzheimer’s and a split rectum.

Best wishes

 

Mike & Kate