28th October 2012

28th October 2012.

Dear All,

Two trips to London this week – that’s pretty sophisticated for simple country folk! On Wednesday we travelled to Harrow to discuss a possible visit to the Northern Lights next March. Dave and Jen came up so it was good to catch up all round. As usual, Graham had drafted meticulous plans; it is like having your own private travel agent.  David had brought a chain saw with him and dissected a large holly tree (on request, not impulse). Mary and Graham are taking in a homeless Iranian from Monday, which is a big undertaking.

Yesterday it was the Annual Mission meeting in the Friends Meeting House at Euston. The main speaker was Malcolm Firth who grew up through our Covenanter group and is now working in Latvia. His parents were also there (now living in March) Lily taught all our children to play the piano, which is an experience I guess they will never forget – “shoes off” and a dinner menu run by the weekly calendar “Monday cheese pie...”

            Friends Meeting House     

  Evening Rally

We took in the Wellcome Collection in Euston Road as well. It was very interesting especially the medical and photographic image sections.

            Caffeine crystals       

       Surface of Human brain

       “Bud” a GM exhibit     

     Obesity Scupture

The U3A film was “Zelig” directed by and starring Woody Allen. He becomes a sort of chameleon imitating the people he meets in personality and looks.

The walk started at Little Staunton near St Neots. Kate came on the longer walk – 10.5 miles.

“Biographies” subject was Sir Anthony Eden. It was interesting to know more of his earlier life as you tend to think “Suez” and not much else, but he won a MC at the age of 19 in WW1 and was highly thought of as Foreign Minister and as an international statesman.

Amélie sent us a postcard from Majorca which indicated that she enjoyed her holiday especially swimming and destroying sand castles.

Love

Mike & Kate

21st October 2012

21st October 2012.

Dear All,

Serious winter maintenance of the cricket pitch this week. We were later than usual and the square was wetter than normal which made it hard work as all the machinery: scarifier, aerator, soil distributor, picked up mud and eventually all the loam had to be applied by hand (50 bags). In addition there were only two of us available so it took a couple of days.

We have attended several lectures this week. On Monday I went back to NIAB as a Leeds University student is using the history of NIAB for an MSc and gave a talk to the retired staff. It was interesting but several of the wrinklies were muttering “I don’t think he has got that quite right!”

On Tuesday I returned the heavy roller to its winter quarters and had to prepare a last minute study on “Mendelssohn” for our home group as the designated presenter was laid low. We also attended a U3A lecture on “Cambridgeshire Wildlife, Past, Present & Future”, by the head of the local Wildlife Trust. He described the effects of Climate Change, Agriculture, Urbanisation, Pollution and Foreign Introductions in a fairly balanced way.

Wednesday was an expensive day. My car was in for a service and MOT and although it passed there is always the opportunity of extracting extra cash by suggesting that something needs fixing before it lets you down. This time it was a brake pipe and the ABS system. In addition I had some work dome on the computer installing Microsoft 2007 and cleaning the fans in the computer box.

This week’s walk started at Brockley Green between Haverhill and Bury St Edmunds and was the first really muddy walk of the year – the sort where you collect great balls of mud from any bare earth.

Brockley Green

Our pastor and a couple of others have been in Moldova this week running training sessions for local men. I haven’t heard all the details yet but they seem to be encouraged.

On Friday the “Biography” class featured William Hamilton, husband of Lady Emma and friend of Nelson. Ironically he seems to have turned a “blind eye” to Emma and Horatio but he was a serious art collector and respected diplomat.

On Friday evening we ran a quiz at the Day Centre to raise funds. Kate had prepared all the questions and I was Question master. It raised £312 and seemed to go pretty well. Questions available for a fee!

Kate catered at the second instalment of Messy Church yesterday and 55 turned up so that is very encouraging – and a lot of hot dogs, sweet corn and cakes on sticks.

Love

Mike & Kate

14th October 2012

14th October 2012.




Dear All,



Kate has had a particularly busy week: an interview, 2 training courses and a visitor. The interview was for a volunteer as a “Mental Health Act Associate Manager” which means being on a panel assessing whether committed inmates can be released back into society. No verdict yet. The courses were “Emotions in Pastoral Care” and “Training for Children’s Work”. The visitor was a lady from Devon (who we had never met) but was the wife of a former pastor of Sutton Bonington whose sister-in-law was in Addenbrookes for tests. She has been unable to eat solid food for 11 years and has to give herself IV jabs everyday.

Highlight of my week was attending 7 seed company open days in Lincolnshire on Wednesday. I took one of my walking companions, David Cook for company. Since the demise of regular NIAB trials the seed companies get together and hold demonstrations on the same 2 days in close proximity to each other near Boston.

I only took 137 photos a small selection is reproduced here - and a complete showing can be arranged!

I had to attend the funeral of an old NIAB colleague Bill Fiddian on Tuesday (David might have come across him at cereals demonstrations). In the evening I took a Garden Club at Harlton on “Oriental Vegetables”.

U3A classes restarted this week; I am on “Biographies” and Kate “The Spanish Civil War”. The subject of this week’s biography was Alex Soyer, the first celebrity chef from Victorian times, who while chief de cuisine at the Reform Club laid on soup kitchens for victims of the Irish Potato Famine and improved food preparation at the Crimean War. He also invented field stoves which were still being used by the army until the time of the Falklands War when they were on a ship that was sunk.

The Thursday walk began at Ferneaux Pelham this week and took in Patmore Heath and Farnham, 11 miles and it did not rain until we were in the pub.

It was the Cricket Club meal and presentation evening last night. They have had a good season with both Saturday teams being promoted and the winter indoor team and one of the midweek teams winning their leagues as well.

It has been the start of the autumn digging season this week but that should be ongoing for a day or two.



Love



Mike & Kate

7th October 2012

7th October 2012.




Dear All,



Devon, Hunstanton and Hutton this week.
I was doing some more work for Riverford and South Devon Growers this week so Kate came with me and we stayed an extra day. We travelled down Monday and stopped at Tewkesbury for lunch and to explore the town. We stayed at Buckfastleigh that night and I had meetings and farm walks on Tuesday while Kate visited Buckfast Abbey, walked nearby and took in Totnes. The morning was OK but I managed to get soaked in the fields in the afternoon. Nearly all their crops are late and rather poor due to being deluged throughout the summer. Ironically the best crops are on the steepest slopes as they shed the excess water better.

Seale Hayne cabbage

 Late January King

We drove across Dartmoor that night in dark and gloomy conditions expecting to see the “Hound of the Baskervilles” at any moment! Kate had found a place to stay at Ottery near Tavistock. Thank heavens for Sat Nav, without it I think we would still have been looking.

On Wednesday we did a walk on Dartmoor starting at Merryvale near Princetown. The weather was reasonable and the walk took in three tors. Highlight was watching ponies being rounded up for their annual branding and cull. There were several hundred being driven by the largest collection of ATVs I have ever seen.

Vixen Tor

Pew Tor

Pony Roundup

Ancient Local

We explored Tavistock in the afternoon and drove back on Thursday.

Tavistock Town Hall

Tavistock Viaduct

Friday was Sam Foster’s wedding at Hunstanton. We just attended the evening function – quite a long way to go for a pork roll and disco!

Yesterday we all gathered in Hutton for Esther’s birthday meal. Mary-Ann, Andy and Amélie were already there when we arrived together with a pair of 6 year old twins that Esther was minding for a work colleague. Ben arrived later on his bike of course. He has recovered pretty well but can still feel an odd ache. The twins were rather lively and very talkative so Esther will know she has had them! We had an Italian meal at Café Uno.

Birthday Girl

Mary-Ann, Amelie & Uncle Ben



This morning we had a service to mark 275 years of the chapel in Over.



Love



Mike & Kate

30th September 2012

30th September 2012.




Dear All,



Godalming, Everton, Harvest celebrations and a couple of talks this week.



It was raining in Surrey as usual. We initially took Amélie to Loseley Park near Guilford (built for Elizabeth l) but it was raining too hard to get out of the car. When it did ease up we fed the ducks at Secretts Farm and visited the local RSPCA Donkey Sanctuary. As this housed 33 fairly vocal inmates this met with her approval.

I took some sweet corn cobs and Amélie had no trouble mastering the essential technique!

By contrast our Thursday walk was largely in sunshine starting at Everton (village near Potton not Goodiston Park).

Tetworth Hall, nr Everton

 Everton church

It is our Harvest Thanksgiving weekend starting with a supper last night with a farmer from near Graffham Water as speaker. The decoration of the building was good as always, the meal excellent, the speaker entertaining and the attendance fairly poor.

Harvest Decorations

I expect you have all planted your spring cabbage, overwintered onion sets and garlic and sown overwintered lettuce so won’t need any reminders from me?



I had to update the Women’s Meeting on Moldova on Tuesday and talk to Cottenham Garden Club on Friday.



I have some work in Devon next week so Kate is planning to come with me and stay a couple of extra days.



Love



Mike & Kate

23rd September 2012

23rd September 2012.




Dear All,

We have just returned from a weeks walking in The Forest of Dean with the U3A. We were a group of 19 and we stayed right in the centre of the Forest at a historic hotel called “Speech House”. It was built in the 17th century as a hunting lodge then became the administrative centre for the forest including the court for the verdereres (who looked after the trees) and the free miners. The court room is now the dining room and still has original and very valuable chairs in place.

Speech House

Group on Sculpture trail

We arrived Sunday pm and did a short walk on the “Sculpture Trail”. On Monday there were “Forest Walks” starting from the hotel and we met wild boar within half an hour of leaving. Estimates of numbers vary from 200 to 600 but evidence of their rooting is everywhere and there are plans to start culling. The walk was meant to be about 12 miles but as happened most days was a tad longer!.

Tuesday we headed west to Orcop and more open country and steepish climbs to Garway Hill and Kentchurch with lunch at Kilpeck. Again the estimated distance to the pub of 9.4 miles was rather optimistic and we arrived an hour late. Kilpeck has a rare Norman church with about 80 corbells (small gargoyles). We explored that then walked back another fictional 4 miles.

Wild Boar

Forest of Dean

Wednesday was a free day but a highlight as we visited one of the local coal mines operated single handedly by a 77 year old man with a wealth of tall stories. We were all kitted out with helmets and lamps and went underground to see the seam he was working. He had the real gift of the gab heightened by working on his own all day!

After that 4 of us visited Tintern Abbey and Chepstow.

View from Garway Hill

Tintern Abbey

Wednesday night was memorable as I woke in some pain with what turned out to be a kidney stone. It is not an experience I am recommending and eventually had to go to the local hospital for diagnosis and a pain killing injection. Kate manfully (womanfully?) stayed with me so we both missed walking the “Three Castles Walk” on Thursday. We did manage to visit Monmouth between spasms and took in the castle and museum, which was dominated by Nelson (who preserved the oak trees in the forest) and Charles Rolls of Rolls Royce fame.

Tough Miners

Symonds Yat

I recovered enough to join the walk from Staunton to Symonds Yat on Friday which included a boat trip up the River Wye in the afternoon.

On the way back on Saturday some of us stopped in the Cotswolds for a final walk beginning at Guiting Power and taking in the Cotswolds Country Park home of Adam from “Countryfile”.

So an enjoyable week (mostly), the weather was kind with sunshine until Wednesday and mostly dry and cloudy thereafter. I am not sure what happens next with kidney stones: has it passed? will there be more? but so far so good!



Love



Mike & Kate



9th September 2012

9th September 2012.

Dear All,

We had a trip to see “The Lion King” at the Lyceum Theatre on Wednesday. Someone in Over had organised a coach so the journey was very easy and the show excellent (even if I did nod off at a crucial stage!)

The Lion King

I replaced all the broken and cracked panes in our greenhouses this week ready for the winter. It is always a challenge handling large sheets of glass so I was glad to get it over with. I also replanted our strawberry bed which is planted through Mypex (woven plastic sheet) in the fruit cage. It was planted in wet weather and the ground set like concrete so the plants did not thrive. I had rooted some runners and been give some more so it was a matter of getting rid of the old plants, digging out and removing the Mypex, digging, mucking, rotovating and levelling the soil, relaying and burying the edges of the Mypex, adding mycorrhiza to the holes and replanting – doesn’t sound too bad listed like that!.



Strawberry Bed

Our Thursday walk started at Elmdon and went through Duddenhoe End, Littlebury Green and Strethall. It was sunny and an interesting walk with plenty of undulations and leafy lanes and only one cultivated field. Also the crops were more interesting than some weeks with several field beans, maize and canary grass for seed.

Near Elmdon

Rockells Farm, Duddenhoe End

It was our last cricket event of the season as we held a double wicket contest to mark 120 years of cricket in Over. The British Legion ladies turned out in force to provide tea and cakes and the weather was fine.
Esther has been up for the weekend. Kate accompanied her to town on a sowing machine hunt yesterday and she did a presentation in church this am about another proposed OT trip to Bulgaria in November. She needs to find £400 for the fare so all donations gratefully received.

Love

Mike & Kate