24th April 2016.

Dear All,

In January I rashly reported that “we treat decoration like the Forth Bridge – gently but non-stop one room per winter”. My wife evidently did not entirely agree and this week we have been tackling the Playroom! It is a big room but fortunately fairly straightforward so it is nearly finished in a fashionable shade of grey.

On Tuesday we were in Hutton helping Esther catch up with her garden: cutting the grass, moving the hen run, reseeding the bare patch, weeding the front beds, planting the raised beds, training the raspberries, moving the tayberry, planting the white currant, painting the shed, planting the greenhouse, repotting the blueberries – it is amazing how time flies when you are enjoying yourselves!

On Wednesday I met up with Riverford again north of Peterborough as they wanted advice on updating their varieties. I came away with a reasonable list of topics which will be difficult to fit in as we are off to Moldova this Wednesday. The update on the seed parcel is that it has been intercepted by the customs and will be returned. “Seed can only be sent by seed companies or large organisations”. This is a nuisance as it was not only seed but other things destined for the village.

Our Thursday walk started at Rede south of Bury St Edmunds and took in Hawkedon, Somerton and Brockley. Unusually the pub would not take preorders for lunch so a delay before food arrived for 30 plus walkers seemed likely. As one of our passengers needed to catch a plane we did not stay – nor did several others so the pub lost out. It was a decent walk with cowslip, oil seed rape and a few bluebells in bloom.

The Plough, Rede

Hawkedon House

Hawkedon Green

We marked out the cricket pitch that night, as usual one mower and the roller were playing up despite winter maintenance.

Love

Mike & Kate

18th April 2016.

Dear All,

We have just returned from a 4 day jaunt to Holland and Belgium with Over Gardening Club. The main purpose was to visit Keukenhof Bulb gardens in Holland organised by Newmarket Travel. They are infamous for arranging accommodation somewhat at a distance from the target destination and it seemed they were on form again as our hotel was in Rotterdam rather than the nearer Amsterdam. However all was forgiven as the hotel was very good – with possibly the best shower we have encountered!

The coach journey there on Thursday via Dover and Calais was a bit tedious but uneventful and the courier was very competent and experienced.

The plan was Keukenhof on Friday, Amsterdam Saturday and Brugge on the way back Sunday. Unfortunately it was fairly damp on Friday but with waterproofs and umbrellas it was not too bad. The bulbs were stunning: 32 hectares, 7 million tulips, daffodils and hyacinths and a great display of Muscari (Grape hyacinths) as well as indoor Pavillions with flower displays.

Muscari

There were optional trips on Saturday to clog making, cheese production and a canal tour in Amsterdam but Kate and I opted to explore Rotterdam, partly because we had visited Amsterdam before and partly because one of our fellow walkers is Dutch and had lived in Rotterdam while his father was engaged in helping rebuild the docks after the war. It was a good choice as the city is an architectural wonder with some fantastic buildings and bridges. We got a “Day Tourist ticket” which allowed use of underground trains, buses and trolley buses and we made at least 12 journeys and saw a great deal of the city.

The Cube Houses

Erasmus Bridge

The Paperclip

The Red Apple

View from the Euromast

We had visited Brugge twice before, but it was a fleeting visit of an hour and a half to break up the homeward journey. Calais was very quiet but the camps are only partially cleared.

Bruges

Love

Mike & Kate

10th April 2016.

Dear All,

I have been packing a consignment for Moldova this week. This is far from an easy process, sorting and ordering a company on line is a tad more complicated than you would expect – the web sites never seem to flow very smoothly and sending seed is not straightforward as strictly each lot should be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate. However we had 1000 packets covering about 200 varieties and the seed has been donated so you cannot expect the donors to provide paperwork and it is not practical anyway. I have tried talking to DEFRA and the Plant Health Seeds Inspectorate but they have not come up with a solution.  I have been advised to label it as “Aid – no cash value”, this worked last time but this time I received a reprimand from TNT saying “you must always list the true value or you could be liable to a fine and returned parcel”. So far it has got as far as Liege – keep hoping for a safe passage!

I have spent a few hours rolling the cricket square and outfield this week, it is still very soft but matches do not start until 7^th May.

Our Thursday walk began at Ugley near Quendon (of Ugley Women’s Institute fame!). We dressed in waterproofs but were only subjected to occasional light drizzle. Philip led the short walk and was frustrated a couple of times by footpaths being closed by the railway and local council. A counsellor responsible for footpaths stopped to enquire whether we needed advice explaining that two girls had been killed crossing the line so they had tightened crossings. Philip disagreed rather forcibly giving his opinion that “people should be trained how to cross lines safely rather than close them for everyone!”

The Beautiful Ugley Chequers

Break in Elsingham Railway Waiting Room

Ugley Green

The other highlight evidently was me getting caught on barbed wire trying to climb over a gate – fortunately I had the only camera!

I did a talk at Soham Allotment Holders on Tuesday, they were a very friendly group who meet in the conservatory of a pub and a certain amount of improvisation was needed to project without screen or blackouts. They were not the most organised because when I arrived one old chap said “I don’t think we have a speaker tonight – I think it’s a plant swap evening!”

We have gardened a little between showers this week and Kate has started redecorating the Playroom.

Next door have completed an impressive fence between our properties, it is good to hide the building activity but strange after 45 years without one.

We were on Street Pastors on Friday night. It was quiet for the first two patrols but lively after 2 am with two serious drunken youths and a couple of altercations and “amusing” taunts of “are you hungry – here come the Street Pastas!”

Love

Mike & Kate

3^rd April 2016.

Dear All,

It was good to see you all last weekend, I hope you all enjoyed the party and had safe return journeys. Thanks for your contributions and donations – we received £660 for CEEM. No photos yet from the “official photographer” so only have a “pre party“ picture of the cake which has been widely praised.

Egg Collection

Serious outdoor gardening got underway this week, firstly digging up the large bamboo clump which got out of hand with runners emerging 6 or 7 yards away from the main growth. Kate has been digging up the outlying runners for several weeks so we blitzed the main clump, it took two days with a pick axe as the roots were like steel.

Otherwise I have rotovated the allotment and planted maincrop potatoes, broad beans, parsnips and carrots.

Our Thursday walk started from Kimbolton and touched Graffham Water. The shorter walk was intended to be 7.5 miles but our leader lost the way a couple of times so it ended up as 10.5 miles – the same as the long walk and not for the first time recently they had finished their lunch by the time we returned! It was rather sticky as the soil is mainly clay thereabouts but fairly undulating and we were treated to an aerial display by a red kite.

Above Kimbolton

Graffham Water

I fetched the cricket roller from its winter quarters yesterday so serious wicket preparation is scheduled to begin this week.

Service and meal in memory of Mervyn’s mother this morning

Love

Mike & Kate

20th March 2016.

Dear All,

Thank you all for cards, best wishes etc. I don’t feel too different and look forward to seeing you all next weekend. On the day, Kate and I were leading the short walk starting at Nuthampstead. When we reccied a couple of weeks ago it seemed too short and we decided to add a loop but as it was freezing cold ending in snow we did not walk the extra loop. In the end it was not quite so straightforward as anticipated and we ended up doing 9.3 miles (the long walk was 9.6 miles!) and we ended up arriving back at the pub 40 minutes after the long walk. However it was dry under foot and mostly sunny and an interesting walk including an obelisk erected for a horse in the Indian Mutiny.

Near Barkway

Newsells Park Obelisk

In the evening we had a meal with Kate, Gordon, Bob, Carol, Geoff and Hilary at the Old Crown at Girton. On Friday night Kate and I went to the Theatre to see “Hobson’s Choice” which was excellent.

Birthday Meal

We have finished decorating the bedroom this week in accordance with the “Forth Bridge one room a year policy”.

Decorated Bedroom

I started shopping for Moldova on Wednesday and managed to plant onion sets and sow a few seeds outdoors.

The subject of the last Biography of term was “Sir Stafford Raffles” founder of Singapore. He started as a humble clerk in the “East India Company” which was the largest employer in the UK at the time and worked his way up to be Lieutenant-Governor of Java. He suggested settling Singapore when no Europeans were living there and was an enlightened Governor but fell foul of the EIC because he was anti slavery at a time when they were using more than a few. He returned to England and was knighted but had a serious brain problem and died aged 45. Because of his anti-slavery position, he was refused burial inside the local parish church (St. Mary's, Hendon) by the vicar, Theodor Williams, whose family had made its money in Jamaica in the slave trade.

Sir Stafford Ruffles 1781-1826

Over pulled off a remarkable victory today against Eaton Socon who were 2^nd in the league and 2 v 0 up at half time but Over hit back in the second half to win 3 v 2.

Love

Mike & Kate

13th March 2016.

Dear All,

It was Street Pastors last night, Kate was in the cafe and I was on the streets. It was not especially busy but several incidents which made it worthwhile. An Italian mother and 17 year old daughter claimed to have lost their money passports etc and were camped out in the shopping centre hoping to last until Monday when they had an appointment with their embassy in London. They couldn’t speak English so their story was incoherent and we had to go to a pub to ask if anyone could speak Italian. In the end our leader took them home for the weekend. Another youth was comatose on the pavement and barely breathing having been celebrating his 18^th birthday and had to be taken to A & E. Another scantily clad young girl was crying and shouting that she had been robbed of all her money and documents, she refused our help and ran off only to be seen with a man with his arm round her. Fearing she was vulnerable we followed her up only to find that the man, who did not know her paid for a taxi and sent her home – two heart warming incidents in one night!

The toughest part was driving home at 4.30am in thick fog.

Kate and I went to the Fitzwilliam Museum on Tuesday to see the latest exhibition “Death on the Nile” as well as view a few of the painting galleries.

Fitzwilliam Museum

Inside

On Wednesday a former Sutton Bonington colleague, Paul Rennie, came to stay the night. He had worked abroad with VSO and CMS in Zambia and Pakistan. He lost two wives to cancer and the third, Sue who was with him had also lost two husbands. As they did not leave until 10 am on Thursday we missed the U3A walk but did our own thing round Swavesey Fen. IT was saturated after a day of rain on Wednesday so was more like the Lake District than East Anglia.

Paul & Sue

Swavesey Fen

In “Biographies” we studied “Joseph Needham”, he was a Cambridge Biochemist who through working with Chinese students became fascinated by China and specifically why they had led the world in discovering gunpowder, paper, printing etc fell severely behind. He first visited China on a diplomatic mission while the Japanese were invading in 1940 and travelled over 30,000 miles collecting material which he aimed to publish in a book. He soon realised that one book would not be enough and after the 7^th decided work should carry on after his death so he managed to set up the “Needham Institute” at Robinson College, Cambridge. He and his wife believed in open marriage and after she died when he was 87 he married one of the Chinese students, who had been his mistress when he was 89! Needless to say being Cambridge a couple of the Biographies class had met him and filled in a few of the gaps regarding his difficult character!

It is the Forth Bridge decorating season again so accordingly we have been repainting our bedroom this week – same colours, refreshed paintwork so not too difficult.

Esther is in Bulgaria again this week teaching “Posture Management”

Love

Mike & Kate

6th March 2016.

Dear All,

There is a character in “Lake Wobegon” – Clint Bunsen, who would only get ill when everyone else had taken their turn. Well Kate and I have been a bit like that this week – it was a quieter week so we have both succumbed to decent colds! We did a recce on Wednesday hoping to shake off the beginnings of snuffles but what started in sunshine developed into a very energetic cold wind and ended in a snowstorm. This brought the colds on quite well so we had to miss the Thursday walk this week.

Before the recce I had been back to NIAB to study their soil steam sterilisation technique as one of our contacts in Moldova is planning to buy a sterilisation machine to offer as a service for tunnels and glass houses. The machine is like a mobile boiler which heats water under pressure and pumps the steam under a heavy plastic sheet. The soil has to be worked and moistened to allow the steam to penetrate 8”.

Steam Steriliser

I have done a little sowing and planting this week much of it under protection in the greenhouse but managed to slide some early peas out of a gutter and cover them with cloches.

Our “Biography” subject this week was “Constantine the Great” a formidable organiser but ruthless having disposed of his son, one wife and mother-in-law on the way. Somehow he managed to embrace Christianity mainly as he saw it as a way of bringing peace to the Roman Empire. His other masterstroke was moving the capital of the Eastern Empire to Constantinople. He was preceded by Constantius his father and succeeded by Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans I – they were not very imaginative with names! He lasted 31 years as Emperor after a period in the previous century when there had been 9 emperors in 54 years.

Constantine the Great

Watching Over was hard work yesterday as there were swirls of hail and they were thumped 5 v 1.

Today is Mervyn Howard’s 75th birthday and he had a gathering at the Social Centre last night. He is looking very fit for 75 and tomorrow he and Pat are off to Barbados.

We have just returned from a baby dedication this morning followed by a shared meal. The parents are South African Matthew and Rachel, Grace Jane was born only 2 weeks ago.

Love

Mike & Kate