23rd February 2014.

Dear All,

Stephen and Margaret Jessup called in for lunch on Friday en route from visiting their son in Peterborough to home in Maidstone.

The novelty of several dry days got me excited enough to plant broad beans, onion sets, shallots and garlic. Probably a bit early but I got carried away at the sight of sunshine!

On Monday we went swimming at 7.15am as the pool was operating half term timings – it is a good way of making your life seem longer. In the afternoon, we had a briefing on our next walking holiday in the Lake District leaving 16^th March. Our leader has a time share at Langdale and they have developed a smart new hotel on the site. As usual his briefing was very thorough – “where will you be eating on Tuesday night and at what time?”

“Eat, Drink etc” covered topics such as “Evolution and the brain”, Food Preparation” and “Food Supplies” and the U3A film was “Aguirre The Wrath of God” a Werner Herzog production about a Spanish expedition in South America seeking El Dorado.

Esther came up to Cambridge on Wednesday to redeem a 40^th present of “Tea and Cakes” at a posh restaurant with Kate and Kate Foster. I attended a funeral for John Morley an old NIAB colleague at Stretham.

Our Thursday walk started at Monk Street near Thaxted and took in Little Cambridge and Tilty. It was muddy and adventurous as the deputed leader had not carried out a recce, so we were not always where we should have been including being on the wrong side of a stream where the bridge had been washed away and replaced by a temporary affair with loose planks. This worried some of our number and one even crawled across.

John leading?

A bridge too far?

Pat’s solution!

Tilty church

The subject of this week’s Biography was “Lady Charlotte Guest”. She was high borne, the daughter of the Earl of Lyndsey and married a wealthy Welsh iron and steel manufacturer. Atypically for the times she helped in the business keeping the books and acting as secretary and running the business when her husband died. She had a gift for languages teaching herself German, French and Spanish before she was 16 then later Greek, Persian and Welsh. She started a school for employees and locals spending £20,000 on a new school which was more than the entire English education budget that year 1847. She found time to have 10 children, all of which survived to adulthood and 9 out lived her when she died aged 82. When her eldest was old enough to run the business she took up collecting porcelain, then fans and playing cards each time becoming a national expert. But her greatest achievement was translating the “Mabinogion” an ancient collection of Welsh poetry and legends into English. I am not sure what she did in her spare time!

Over played their first game for a month and were very rusty losing 1 v 0 to Eaton Socon.

Love Mike & Kate

16th February 2014.

Dear All,

I hope you have all survived this week’s weather. We were in Lincolnshire on Wednesday and had an interesting journey home. We were nearly blown off the road on the new Cowbit and Crowland by pass with lorries wobbling everywhere; then a tree across the road followed by Whittlesey Mere which looked like the Lake District.

We were in Lincolnshire to meet up with Bryan Withers who used to work with me. He suffered from polio as a child which deformed his chest. He now has severe breathing difficulties with an apparatus to help him at night. We met up with Bill (another former colleague) and Joyce Chowings who now live near Watton, Norfolk and Tony Hewitt and David Jeffries (RHS colleagues) at Surfleet for lunch.

 Whittlesey Mere

The wind was worse on Friday night and blew the end out of one of our greenhouses but thankfully the sun is shining as I write.

I rushed to the swimming pool on Monday to meet Kate after I had a dental check up – only to find it closed for GCSE exams.

“Eat, Drink and be Healthy” covered minerals this week. They comprise 4% of our body weight, we need 18, calcium is most abundant, kelp contains 1093 mg/100g and milk only 103, cheese and nuts are far better sources than milk. Iron is most likely to be short. Even one we have hardly heard of like Vanadium is necessary in insulin action, bones and regulating Na/K balance in cells and is best sourced from parsley. Kate spent the morning sitting with Mary Watts, an elderly lady who needs constant company and care, relieving her live in carer.

The U3A film this week was “Elisabeth” the Kate Winslet version with an Indian director. The review said “colourful but not historically accurate”

Our Thursday walk started at Arrington again and was mostly in and around Wimpole Hall. It was mainly sunny and not too much mud.

Wimpole walk

“Biographies” subject was Dame Laura Knight, an artist who rose from a poor background to eventually paint the Nuremberg Trials.

It was “Messy Church” again yesterday. I think the weather kept some folk at home but there was a reasonable turnout.

Love Mike & Kate

9th February 2014.

Dear All,

It was the annual church “Awayday” yesterday at March. It was lead by John Law on “Encouragement” who did OK  - but not as good as Graham of course! On the way back we had a look at the floods at Sutton Gault which were very impressive.

March – Bridge Building Exercise

Sutton Gault

Esther’s old room has been finished and everything replaced – well nearly everything as Kate has been pruning the books in her usual ruthless fashion.

In the Nutrition course we covered “Vitamins” this week which you will know are “Essential low molecular weight compounds required in trace amounts for normal growth and metabolism”. We learnt that supplements are a waste of time for healthy folk with a balanced diet, except vitamin D which is in short supply in our northern winters as it is formed in the skin in the presence of sunlight.

The U3A film was “Woman of the Dunes” a bizarre Japanese B&W offering about a man and woman trapped in depression in the dunes by a tribe of fishermen. It was very memorable and some people loved it while others (like Kate) did not.

I spoke at the Little Paxton Gardeners Club on Wednesday so called in on John to plan our next Moldova trip a little. We are booked on Moldovan Airlines this time and they have already bumped us onto a flight a day later which is not very convenient.

On Thursday Kate and I lead the walk from Horseheath via Shudy Camps avoiding as many muddy fields as possible. Kate managed most of the walk so is still progressing.

In the evening we visited Stan & Maya, a Bulgarian couple who have applied for church membership and they had unexpectedly laid on dinner. Stan is a computer expert and I currently entrust my machine to his TLC.

Have you heard of John Baillie? Maybe not this one – he was the topic of “Biographies” this week. Being Cambridge it was presented by the man who wrote his biography, George Newlands. Baillie was a Scottish, Calvinistic Minister and liberal theologian with an interesting and influential life.

Love

Mike & Kate

2^nd February 2014.

Dear All,

Esther stayed over until Monday and we went shopping in Cambridge for her birthday/Christmas/ this year/next year? present of a smart TV. This was successfully purchased at John Lewis and she was able to pick it up from the “Park & Ride” distribution point on her way home. My car suspension has been clunking for a bit so I had that fixed on Monday as well.

The “Be Healthy” talk this week was mainly on liquids – we drink 45 tons of water in a lifetime, and fats: saturated, unsaturated, trans and cholesterol. The U3A film was “Before Sunrise” which was a bit too romantic for several of the aged audience who left before the end! In the evening it was the chapel events planning meeting suggesting activities for the year which the “Events Committee” have to now sort out.

It was serious painting on Wednesday as we are redecorating Esther’s old room. Kate has done the preparation and gloss work, I have been trusted to apply the finishing touches to the ceiling and walls: one blue and three cream.

Don’t photograh me!

On Thursday I led the Abbots Ripton walk that we had recced the previous week. Unfortunately the weather was far worse as it rained most of the way and visibility for the splendid views was rather poor.

 Damp Walkers

Abbots Ripton Hall

I arrived home from this at tad damp and weary and was delighted to receive an email from our esteemed leader requesting a swap for next week as the scheduled walk is flooded and bringing forward our next leading duty from March to next week. Consequently we were out at Horseheath yesterday scouting the route for next Thursday. Kate decided to try a “gentle” walk and managed the 8 miles of mud! But her foot swelled a bit afterwards. It was quite eventful with mud and swollen streams, I slipped over and made a big impression then we met the local pheasant shoot. There were about 25 guns who were doubtless delighted to see a couple of hikers strolling through their patch!

 

Horseheath Walk

The “Biography” this week was “Mary Queen of Scots” whose life was fairly eventfully crowned at 6 days old, married at 15, widowed at 17, remarried at 23, husband murdered 2 years later, remarried same year. Imprisoned, executed 20 years later.

Love

Mike & Kate

26th January 2014.

Dear All,

A couple of muddy walks this week as I did a recce with a couple of colleagues on Monday and the normal walk on Thursday. On Monday the walk started at Abbots Ripton home of the De Ramsey family. The family name is Fellowes and the author of Downton Abbey is part of thedynasty and lives nearby. They own 6,000 acres which is the whole of the village and some more. It was a decent walk with spectacular views to the north with nearly all the heavy land ploughed but not sown.

The Abbots Elms

 Abbots Ripton Estate

The second instalment of “Eat, Drink and be Healthy” covered food basics including food types, sources and uses. Sugar consumption is now 35-50 times it was a 100 years ago.

In the afternoon we attended the U3A film which was “The White Ribbon” It was filmed in black & white. The setting was the fictitious Protestant village of Eichwald,Germany, from July 1913 to 9 August 1914, where the local pastor, the doctor and the baron rule the roost over the area's women, children and peasant farmers. There are several strange unexplained violent incidents which perhaps explain the build up to the 1^st WW.

Kate is in decorating mood for Esther’s old room so we went to B&Q and Homebase on Wednesday for supplies. In the afternoon we attended the U3A Wednesday lecture entitled “Why aren’t we all fat?” by Stephen O’Rahilly who is a local expert. In our lifetime we drink 42 tons of water and eat 3 tons of fat, 3 tons of protein and 8 tons of carbohydrate. Your BMI is up to 75% genetic.

On Thursday we started at Dry Drayton in the rain and proceeded to Knapwell and Bar Hill discovering some mud but it could have been worse.

 Sticky Start

We drove down to Hove in the afternoon. The M25 was sluggish so we took 3 hours arriving about 7 pm. Ericsson are transferring much of their accounting to Dusseldorf and Andy has to go for at least a year so this will disrupt their life for a while.

On Friday we took Amélie to storytime at the Library then Arundel Wildlife Centre. It was well laid out with a range of ducks and other water birds. There was a small electric inflatable boat ride where we saw a couple of water voles.

 Library

Arundel Wildlife Centre

We left fairly early on Saturday and I watched Fulbourn 0 v 1 Over. Esther has arrived this lunchtime with a view to buying a Smart TV tomorrow.

Love

Mike & Kate

19th January 2014.

Dear All,

A few presentations this week: Kate gave a talk on “Smallpox in Bleak House” to the Dickens Society for which she has received generous accolades. I had a Garden Club appointment at Benington, near Stevenage on Wednesday then a “Rambling Year” presentation at the U3A Ramblers New Year Social on Friday.

On Monday I had a glimpse of why the NHS is not always as efficient as it should be. I was called back to see the specialist who looked at my lung scan results last August expecting another scan. However, when I eventually got to see him after the statutory 45 minutes wait he said: “I don’t know why they have called you in – I don’t want to see you again for 12 months!”

This week saw the start of the new U3A term and I have swapped “Just Vegetating” for “Eat, Drink and Be Healthy” which examines all the spurious claims of the food and medical industries. The first book on the reading list is “Bad Science” by Ben Goldacre. Later I joined some ex NIAB “wrinklies” for lunch while Kate went to the U3A film “The Godfather II!

Kate achieved another target on Wednesday by getting a walking boot on her recovering foot. We walked round the village OK but it was throbbing a bit afterwards.

The Thursday walk did not go according to plan. I arrived at Haddenham with my passenger June from Willingham, when she had a call from her son who has a Personality Disorder. He lives on a barge at Ely and frequently phones for up to 3 hours at a time to berate her about things. In the end I had to take her home in tears. He isn’t getting any better and she is not getting much help, the situation is worse because her husband is working in Bristol all week.

I didn’t get back to Haddenham until 11.30 but managed a short solo walk round the fen to Aldreth.

Aldreth Drove

“Biographies” this week was “Dickens part 2” delivered by a lady speaking at ninety miles per hour as a literature review rather than a biography.

Gardening muscles were stretched a little this week buying seed potatoes, onion, garlic and shallot sets and sowing peas and beans in modules in the greenhouse.

It was “Messy Church” again yesterday. Kate was IC food and I was in charge of making “Cress men”.

  

Messy Church

Love

Mike & Kate

12th January 2014.

 

Dear All,

 

Kate has been suffering from a heavy cold this week – which has perhaps helped take her mind off her foot? The foot is still improving and she managed to swim on Monday and catered for 40 at the chapel social last night.

I have spent quite a lot of time on the computer this week preparing presentations for the social last night and the walkers New Year party this coming Friday as well as the February Gardening Column.

I pruned the apple trees on Wednesday and planted some bulbs in pots in the greenhouse. The Thursday walk started at Arrington taking in Croydon and the Wimpole Park – a bit muddy but could have been much worse.

 

 Walking near or in Wimpole

 

Later in the day I met up with some old NIAB colleagues at Oakington Garden Centre. Also present was a man called Alan Shipp who is the holder of the national Hyacinth collection. He has about 1000 varieties and holds an open day at Waterbeach at the end of March each year.

The Social meal was excellent, menu: starters, pate or butternut squash soup, main, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, potatoes au gratin, red cabbage, peas and sweet corn, or chicken bake in mushroom sauce, choice of eight sweets, cheese and biscuits, tea or coffee, price £7. The review gets longer each year – 170 slides this year.

Over suffered a rare defeat yesterday 1 v 0 in the cup appearing rather rusty after several blank weeks.

 

Love

 

Mike & Kate