28th November 2010

28th November 2010.

Dear All,

Have seen the starling acrobatic swarming at Fen Drayton twice this week and it is quite spectacular. There are thousands of birds which must accumulate from miles away. The early arrivals circulate waiting for the later ones to turn up then all of a sudden flop down into the reeds. Even later comers seem to not mess around and descend straight away.

Starling Cloud

On Monday I visited the Museum of Classical Archaeology in Cambridge (which I had never heard of!) – it is a massive display of cast copies of Greek and Roman statues and reasonably interesting as we had a guided tour.

Museum of Classical Archaeology

Astronomy was on the Terrestrial Planets: Mercury, Venus and Mars. At present you need to get up at 6.30am to see Venus – the brightest star in the sky.
For “Maps” we studied the history of The World Wide Web which incredibly only started in 1999.
My ankle, toe and knee have been playing up gout wise this week so I missed the walk this Thursday. I was able to dig the area planned for our fruit cage so didn’t waste the time.
I was taken for lunch by a seed company wanting me to do some consultancy on Wednesday but it remains to be seen whether it works out.
This morning we looked out of the window and a buzzard was tearing a small bird to pieces on the log pile. They really seem large close to.


Buzzard

(all bird pictures from net)
We have been entertaining today with the Whitfieds and Twiss’s (latest occupants of Pitt’s old bungalow opposite) here for lunch.
Tonight is the village Carol Service at St Mary’s so Christmas is getting seriously closer.

love

Mike & Kate

21st November 2010

21st November 2010.

Dear All,

Ben returned to Streatham on Monday in better weather than he arrived. Esther had a day in Cambridge with us on Monday before returning to Hutton in the evening. It is early for us to begin Christmas shopping but Esther acted like an enzyme – a stimulus to activate a dormant activity! We were also privileged to sample her personalised range of exclusive free range slug enhanced hens eggs.

Ben Departing for a Quick 75 miles

I left them in the afternoon for a conducted tour of the Folk Museum. This was started in 1935 to preserve mainly non University local history and artefacts. It is housed in an old pub at the bottom of Castle Hill and severely under funded.



Folk Museum Apple Peeler & Corer


Folk Museum Hat Making Kit

Next months Garden Column for “Over News” is, of course, on Brussels sprouts and is available as usual for syndication.
Tuesday was work, including a trip to our leek trial which is 2.3 miles off the beaten track in the middle of the fens. Part of the NIAB site (nearest the road) is being rapidly developed for housing and really is like working on a building site at present.


NIAB Site November 2010

After work I had my weekly Astronomy fix – this week on the outer gas giant planets and in the evening yet another Garden Club (5th in 5 weeks) at Swaffham Prior.
The map course on Wednesday covered “Using Geographic Information”.
Thursday’s walk was tough as it was muddy starting at Stansfield, 10.1 miles via Hawkedon, Scoles Gate, Purton Green and Denston. I was struggling a bit with gout like symptoms in knee and toe which has since settled in my ankle.


Approaching Stansfield

We have invested in a fruit cage for the garden so I have been clearing where it is planned to go. It was time to lift dahlias and gladiolas this week and plant a few lettuce in the greenhouse.
Fen Drayton Pits are deemed a great place to observe the starling murmerations at dusk but it has been rather foggy most evenings this week so it has spoilt it so far.


love

Mike & Kate

14th November 2010

14th November 2010.

Dear All,

Ben cycled up from Stretham with a friend Tim on Friday, 75 miles in 7 hours with a lively wind accompaniment. Tim returned today but Ben is returning tomorrow. Esther came up for lunch today having been singing in a concert last night. She too is staying overnight to begin Christmas shopping with Kate tomorrow.
We had a chapel away day yesterday at Perry next to Graffham Water again (where Graham led last time); this time we had a lawyer, Andrew Kean discussing when it is right for Christians to disobey the law. It was a very interesting topic.

Away Day at Perry

Graffham Water at Perry

Otherwise business as usual – a visit to the Sedgewick Museum on Monday which houses 1 million fossils, 160,000 rock samples and 40,000 mineral exhibits. The collection was started in the 17th century by a man called Woodward; Sedgewick was one of his students who ended up getting the museum named after himself.

Sedgewick Ammonites

Sedgewick Archaeopteryx

A busy day at work on Tuesday as my colleague is in NZ visiting his parents for the first time – they emigrated in 1991!
Another Garden club this week – this time at Histon. After the maps course on Wednesday I had to go to work to meet folk from Gardening Which and then cut the grass for what might be the last time and dug in the runner beans. In the evening our church group had a meal out at the “Wok ‘n Grill” eat too much diner!
The Thursday walk was a bit serious with wind, rain and mud but our leader was absent convalescing injured heels so no extra miles! We started at Therfield above Royston and walked to Buckland and Reed crossing the A10.
The Royal British Legion have joined our evening service tonight, after ageing for sometime they seem to have recruited some younger blood.

Last Nights Sunset

love

Mike & Kate

7th November 2010

7th November 2010.

Dear All,

No walk this week as it was the annual NIAB Onion Open Day on Thursday. It is an all day event as the Steering Group meet in the morning to review the year’s results and plan next years trials, then the samples are on display for everyone in the afternoon. This was a bit poignant as it is likely to my last as a NIAB employee as I plan to stop next March on my 65th after 41.5 years at NIAB!

Onion Display

My Monday class took us to the Cambridge University Zoology Museum which was interesting but there was no one free to show us round so I guess you do not get so much out of it (like walking in the jungle without a guide?). They have an impressive collection of mammal skeletons, UK birds and some of Darwin’s specimens.

Zoology Museum


In the evening a group of us travelled to Peterborough to hear Jeff Lucas and Adrian Plass speaking on their “Seriously Funny Tour” It was sold out with over 1000 there and an experience to be in the vast Kingsgate Church which is a new building on an industrial estate.
Tuesday was work, Astronomy – the moon this week, followed by groups.
Wednesday “Maps in the Digital Age”, a church events committee at lunchtime so I fed them afterwards followed by a Garden Club talk at Barley. This was held in the Town House, their village meeting room which was the first venue to be licensed for non church or registry office weddings.

Barley Town House

Kate was off on Friday but had a scan so I went with her to St Ives and afterwards we visited the Norris Museum (museum overload?) and the market.
Saturday I gardened in the am: clearing tomatoes and runner beans and some digging. In the afternoon I watched Hardwick 1 v 3 Over (slightly against the run of play) and in the evening we helped Gordon celebrate his 58th birthday.
Today Isaac, the youngest Kean child was dedicated so we have just returned from a meal at chapel again masterminded by Kate.

Isaac Kean

Haven’t the autumn colours been brilliant this year? These photos were taken in Dry Drayton.




Autumn Colours at Dry Drayton
love

Mike & Kate

31st October 2010

31st October 2010.

Dear All,

Kate and I took part in the “Wallaby Walks” last weekend which are arranged each year to raise money for local children’s charities. We stayed in Leek and walked on Saturday pm round Titteswell Reservoir, Sunday the Goyt Valley and Monday through Ilam Country Park. Saturday was damp but the other days were frosty, clear and bright – ideal for walking (and photography!). We called in at Bolehill on the way back.

Near the Cat & Fiddle

Errwood Reservoir

The Roaches


Ilam




Tuesday was busy with work, 2 U3A classes and church groups. One of the classes was visiting the University museum of Anthropology and the other Astronomy. Wednesday it was “Maps in the Digital Age” which so far looks to be the most promising class.

Anthropology Museum


On Thursday we began our walk at Furneux Pelham and circled via Hare Street, it was sticky under foot and fairly strenuous. One of the ladies is an expert on Proust so a few of us have been trying to read “The Way by Swann’s” to discuss in the pub over lunch. It is tough going and I cannot quite see why it is so famous so far.
It has been good digging weather so I have broken the back of it and been incorporating mustard this week. Runner beans are incredibly still cropping and we have picked more raspberries this week than all through the year. Kate is continuing to juice windfall apples on an industrial scale as the trees have cropped so heavily this year.

Digging in Mustard

Friday I had to fill in a load of RHS forms justifying trials in 2012 and then had a Garden Club talk in Cottenham.
On Saturday we delivered the annual fund raising quiz at the Day Care Centre. Kate made up all the questions and I was quiz master. It takes a long time composing the questions, printing all the question sheets for the picture rounds and the answer sheets but it is quite good fun.

Quiz

Apart from the above it has been a quiet week!

love
Mike & Kate

17th October 2010

17th October 2010.

Dear All,

I started the new U3a term this week with two new classes (another starts next week) together with the continuation of the walking. On Monday it was “Cambridge Past, Present and Future”, we met at the Scott Polar Museum and had a talk about the 8 University Museums and a look round the SPM.

Capt Oates Sleeping Bag

The Discovery

On Wednesday it was “Maps in the Digital Age” which was very interesting with so many new developments and exciting sites on the web. Try www.nationaltrustnames.org.uk/ to see how your ancestors have spread out.
Thursdays walk started in Hildersham and included Linton, Hadstock and Abington. The weather was not great as it was misty and drizzly but being the first of a new term there were 48 participants. It always starts like this until our leader burns off the softies!
After the class on Wednesday I travelled up to Lincolnshire for the seed trade brassica open days around Boston and Spalding. There were seven in total but I only managed three.

Cabbage plot at Elsoms

Kale plots

On Friday we had a new fridge delivered, the car MOTed, cut the grass (again) dug some more garden, sowed over wintered broad beans, wrote a garden column and distributed 6 CDs of the College Gardens.
Yesyerday it was Chapel Cleaning Day with much dumping of “stuff” which inevitably accumulates. In the afternoon I watched Waterbeach 0 v 4 Over.
Sam Foster got engaged last weekend (what odds would you have got on that a few months ago?)
Esther should have flown out to Bulgaria this morning. They land in Sofia but have a 300 km journey after to reach their destination.
love

Mike & Kate

11th October 2010

11th October 2010.

Dear All,

Serious entertaining this weekend with Mandy and Natasha visiting from Derbyshire. When it comes to parenting skills Phil and Mandy are definitely more Ann Widdicombe rather than Pamela Stephenson in Strictly Come Dancing terms! It takes Kate some time to recover and you seriously wonder how things will work out!
On Saturday we travelled to Heybridge Basin near Maldon, to view Alfie, the new arrival in Kate’s sister’s family. He seems promising material as he went all day without crying.

Alfie

Sister Emma

Heybridge Basin

More digging this week and planting of over-wintered onions, shallots and garlic. Another talk this time to Cambridge Geranium Society who were aged but appreciative.
I missed the Thursday walk this week as I went to the National Carrot Demonstration at Papplewick near Nottingham. We drill the plots for the demonstration and there are also machinery and chemical exhibits. Last time we were in this area a huge hole opened up in the middle of the field as a mine gave way.

Carrot Plots

Kate and I did a walk round the Swavesey Pits on Thursday evening and we also walked Mandy and Natasha round Wicken Fen on Sunday afternoon.

Wicken Fen

We helped with a new Youth Group on Friday organising “Mini Olympics”. It was like rolling back the years but we both felt rather aged!
love

Mike & Kate