26th August 2012

6th August 2012.

Dear All,

Back to work this week! I have been covering for a former NIAB colleague Andy Haward who set up his own trials business. He is a bit of a workaholic so it was useful to be able to keep things going while he took his children to Cornwall for a few days. I thought it was just going to be cutting a couple of Gardening Which courgette trials on Monday and Wednesday but at the last minute a 40 variety lettuce trial the other side of Norwich which was a more serious undertaking.
We have been trying to help a housebound man called Dick Lawson to get out of doors. He has both a push and electric wheelchair but the step to their house is so steep and he is so heavy that his wife cannot manage to get him out. We managed to get him up to the chapel on Wednesday afternoon with some difficulty for “Tea & Light Cakes” (TLC) that has been started to occupy those at a loose end. Coming back the heavens opened for the only time that day so we got drenched – still it was the first time he had been out in rain in living memory so he claimed to enjoy it.
Our Thursday walk started at Sturmer near Haverhill this week and took in Baythorne End and Ridgewell. Esther may well remember Baythorne End as that is where she fell out of the car as a baby. The route took in part of the “Stour Valley Way” and the scenery was good. Underfoot several ex Rape fields had been cultivated and set into hard lumps so were not easy walking and headlands and parts of the path overgrown with nettles and thistles – definitely not a shorts walk – and I was wearing shorts! It was also 11.5 miles so we were not too frisky Thursday evening.

Stour Valley

ex Rape field

Baythorne End

Path near Ridgewell

The garden has been fairly prolific this week with beans and tomatoes coming on full stream.

Nature is bountiful!

For those that know Margery Johnson she has been having severe back problems and been diagnosed with arteriosclerosis. Kate has been cooking for her until something else can be sorted.
Over 2nds managed to finish their last game in the rain yesterday and finished top of the league and we had another BBQ at Sutton last night for those who attended the Pastoral Care course.

Love

Mike & Kate

19th Auguast 2012

19th August 2012.

Dear All,

It was the annual chapel seaside trip yesterday and we actually managed to visit Hunstanton on a hot day – something that I can only recall happening once before! There were about 30 of us this year. We usually hire a church hall but that was not possible this year as the Beach Mission was using it, instead we managed to hire the basement kitchen area of the Town Hall and this proved excellent, as it was close to the front and about the right size.

Hunstanton Town Hall

Work Party



Shouldn’t the sea be blue?

Traditional lunch

The sea was its usual brown Windsor soup colour and a good hike from the shore but good enough for paddling even though to swim you would need the triathelon discipline i.e. a long run or bike ride beforehand.
I was 4th (i.e. last) in the annual Pitch and Putt contest. We had the course virtually to ourselves as it was too hot for most non-dedicated players. On the way back we stopped at Sutton for a BBQ and again the weather was just about the right temperature.

BBQ at Sutton

Our last midweek chapel cricket match against St Neots Methodists resulted in another victory so preserving our 100% record (covering 4 matches! – 5 rained off). On Thursday I spent nearly 2 hours preparing the wicket for Saturday when the opposition rang up and cancelled. Over 2nds also have a 100% record with one match to play.
We travelled to Godalming on Tuesday afternoon to look after Amélie on Wednesday. She is now walking very well and has turned her back on crawling! We visited Wisley as I had missed the last assessment meeting looking at Basil, Parsley and tomatoes.

Piece of cake this walking



Basil trial

Phlox trial

Ben finally had an X-Ray and has broken his shoulder as well as ribs. As it has been 3-4 weeks not being held in position it has not healed well and may need pinning. Kate has written to Hinchingbrooke Hospital complaining that they did not diagnose the break when he was examined.
Our walk on Thursday started at Cottered near Buntingford and was enjoyable but the pub had 3 walking groups booked in so was heaving.

Love

Mike & Kate

12th August 2012

12th August 2012.

Dear All,

Highlight of this week was a trip to the Olympics on Monday. Kate and I were fortunate enough to get tickets in the first allocation for the athletics stadium. We arrived 5 or 6 hours early to look round the Park on Esther’s recommendation, as she had been the week before and said that it was well worth it. Apart from the giant screen in the “Park Live” area there were film shows from the sponsors, fantastic flower borders and various other entertainments.

Stadium by Day

Stadium by Night

Flower borders

Coke Pavillion

Park Live

The Velodrome

BP Pavillion



Inside the Arena

Unknown Jamaican Athlete

In the arena we saw the men’s 400m and 400m hurdles finals and the women’s pole vault, shot and steeple chase finals and heats of the 200m and 400m hurdles. In addition there were 5 presentations including Usain Bolt’s 100m.
It has been widely recorded that the atmosphere was fantastic and the volunteers very helpful and ubiquitous.
In terms of our own “athletic” performances this week we swam on Wednesday, walked Thursday and I made my first Saturday appearance for the cricket team as holidays were biting. Modesty nearly prevents me from saying that I ran somebody out with a diving stop and scored the winning runs going in at no.11.
The walk started at Northill and circled the Old Warden Park. It was hot, humid and sticky underfoot and 11 miles long – so not the proverbial “stroll in the park”
I attended a U3A BBQ at Dry Drayton after the walk. As usual the setting was remarkable on the site of a former rectory which occupied about 40 acres and now contains a cricket pitch, camp site, cattery and a decent sized wood.

Love

Mike & Kate

5th August 2012

5th August 2012.

Dear All,

We spent last weekend in Holland and Belgium with Over Gardening Club primarily visiting “Floriade” an International horticultural exhibition. It was a lengthy journey by coach and ferry courtesy of Newmarket Travel – a company that came bottom in a recent survey of travel agents. They had booked a hotel an hour further north than necessary and the large Irish lady courier left a little to be desired. We were reduced to speculating ideas like “What if Newmarket Travel had organised the Exodus etc.”
We did enjoy the trip, not least getting to know some of the other travellers better, there were 30 from Over plus another 20.

Peppers

Tomato Tree



Floriade boots

Celebrities

“Floriade” is held every 10 years at different locations this time at Venlo and we stayed just south of Apeldoorn at Beekbergen. On the Sunday, some of us visited Het Lo, the former palace of William and Mary and then in the afternoon Kate and I hired bikes and explored the local National park and Apeldoorn.
On the way back on Monday we had 2.5 hours in Bruges including a canal boat tour.
Holiday Club the previous week went well with about 20 children attending each day.


Het Lo Gardens

Het Lo Palace



Bruges main square

Bruges Canals
Kate travelled to Godalming on the train this week for Amélie minding duty. The down journey worked well but the return was a bit longer with London apparently full of visitors for some reason!
We actually managed to complete a cricket match on Wednesday evening but yesterday a violent downpour finished play after a couple of hours.
On Thursday we drove up to Heacham to join the extended Brown family and were privileged to join in the celebrations for the aged couple.

Aged Couple

Brown family
It is our chapel BBQ today but the weather forecast is not too promising.

Love

Mike & Kate

22nd July 2012

22nd July 2012.

Dear All,

Family duties this week. Mary-Ann started back at work for 3 days a week and as she only has nursery places for 2 days there is a rota for the third day. We travelled down Tuesday via Esther’s as her garden needed some attention: cutting grass, weeding the front, emptying the large compost bin etc. Esther was at work but joined us for lunch. We managed to finish in dry weather but it was raining by the time we reached Godalming. Mary-Ann and Amélie both had colds but the baby minding went OK and Mary-Ann survived her return to work. We pushed Amélie down to Godalming and only got slightly wet. It was excellent exercise as the route back to Ockford Ridge is quite steep.






Team GB

Watching the Olympic Flame

Both gardens have an excellent stock of giant slugs. I have heard that the supply of “Nemaslug” the biological control pellet has run out and is unlikely to be back on the market this year as it takes 12 weeks to brew up more.
Tuesday we got the message that Ben suffered an accident near Braemar on his John O’Groats to Lands End bike ride. He hit gravel coming down a hill very fast and fortunately landed in heather. He is badly bruised and sore and the bike broke front forks and buckled a wheel. Passers by with a van looked after him well taking him to a doctor and finding accommodation. He had bought a special Boardman bike for the occasion and could not get the correct replacement parts in Aberdeen or Edinburgh. He eventually caught a train to Peterborough and we picked him up on Friday. We stopped off at Hinchingbrooke Hospital for a check over. They do not think he has broken anything and if it is a rib nothing can be done anyway. R&R should do the trick but he is obviously disappointed not to complete the trip.

Bike

& Body
Our Thursday walk started nearby at Elsworth and circled via Cambourne and Knapwell. We did not get wet until the last 10 minutes.
We were planning to go down to Beaumont on Friday but cancelled to collect Ben.
It is Holiday Club next week so we spent much of Saturday am setting up then catching up in a soggy garden. There is plenty to do but at least it has been productive with peas, mange tout, French beans, broad beans, potatoes, calabrese, carrots, beetroot, lettuce, cucumbers, raspberries and boysenberries all harvested this week.

Love

Mike & Kate

15th July 2012

15th July 2012.

Dear All,

So the wet weather continues and despite several emergency meetings so did our village Carnival yesterday. As one of the groundsmen I feel it was a mistake as this is what the Green looks like this morning,


The Green this morning

and yesterday



Chapel stand - ball game

Olympic Quiz


The chapel had our usual stand and we attracted plenty of customers with a ball game and Olympic Quiz. The Veg Show entries were down. I managed 10 x 1sts, 6 x 2nds and 4 x 3rds out of 21 entries but was pipped for the cup by one point (largely due to appalling judging as usual!!!). I have offered to judge next year so this might be my last year of competition for a while.
The litter picking this morning was not too arduous as it had all disappeared in the mud.
It was a similar scene on Friday when I went to look at a NIAB salads trial in a commercial crop at Shippea Hill. Most of the field had been cleared using their giant harvesting rigs leaving some evidence of their passing!



Shippea Hill lettuce field

Salads trial

Kate and Esther had a successful sing in the Albert Hall last Sunday performing “The Armed Man” and “The Gods of Olympus” by Karl Jenkins. Esther has been having trouble with her eyes so Kate stayed over on Monday to help with a hospital appointment.
Our Thursday walk started at Guilden Morden beyond Royston and took in Litlington and Steeple Morden. It was predictably sticky underfoot and rather humid but dry overhead.

Near Steeple Morden

in Steeple Morden

Cricket was cancelled as usual, the chapel have managed 2 midweek games out of 6, the Saturday 1sts have cancelled 5 games so far.

Love

Mike & Kate