St. Ives - Cambridgeshire, England

One night in hotel near Leeds airport and next day by train to Huntingdon after visiting mushroom friends. At least, that yielded me a nice tour of Castle Howard & Minster of York in September, 1985.
Too bad we had to leave mid afternoon by train...
We got picked up at the Huntingdon train station by someone from the Hensby Compost Ltd.
We got dropped off at motel Saint Ives in St. Ives.
We would be there for two nights.

A lovely place St. Ives

Saint Ives Motel in Cambridgeshire

River Ouse
Huntingdon Bridge         Godmanchester Bridge
Hinchingbrooke House
After breakfast we got picked up by Ian Hensby and went to their Compost place, only five minutes from our motel.

After lunch at a medieval restaurant we did visit a mushroom grower in Cambridgeshire and also a very large mushroom farm in Norfolk.
This photo is from some mushroom sheds where Pieter had climbed on the water tower to have an overview.
Ian briefly went home for a change and we went out for dinner at Pike and Eel Hotel and Marina in Needingworth with a group of twelve. A delicious meal!

Pike and Eel Hotel and Marina in Needingworth click link
Ian's Parents, Ferd and Sylvia Hensby did bring us back in their Rolls Royce to our motel.
Next day we got picked up by someone from Hensby at 10:00 after we had checked out.
From Hensby Compost Ltd. Pieter left with them for a mushroom farm-walk as part of the MGA conference.
Meanwhile I stayed with Elizabeth, the Scottish wife of Hensby's financial man, Gerard Baker.
We walked through St. Ives and I bought postcards, my Mom collected them and I always got her some nice ones.
After lunch Elizabeth and her husband Gerry walked with me alongside the river.
Pieter joined us by 18:30 and we both had supper at the Scottish couple's home.
After supper we left for Cambridge to check into our hotel...
Will show you next!

Thanks for your visit and comment.

Sadly in the February issue uploaded by the ISMS 1997-2 The Mushroom Journal we read about 

Gerry' passing following a gallant struggle with cancer... Too young at age 56!

May he R.I.P.!

Related link:

My Visit to Castle Howard & Minster of York, England | previous post by me

My Visit to Castle Howard & Minster of York, England

En route to the MGA Conference in Cambridge we flew to Leeds.

Visiting our mushroom friends Paul and Pam Middlebrook.
We went to their home and had coffee with cookies on Monday morning, September 23 of 1985.
Pieter went with friend Paul to his mushroom farm and Pam did take Alice Carapiet (whom we also would meet at the two SPAWN MATE SYMPOSIUMS in Scottsdale, Arizona) and me for a ride.
During all International events we would run into our mushroom friends from all over the world!
Her husband George Carapiet was with SPAWN MATE at the time.
Both had Armenian background.

Here, friend Pam and I are in front of Castle Howard on September 23, 1985...
Wearing my tweed woolen Planet suit, the one that Pam helped select for Pieter  when he was shopping for me in 1982. That was after receiving his Sinden Award, at Marks & Spencer in Harrogate.
Pam was smart to ask Pieter, which of the sales ladies at the department store, resembled my build.
So that worked out perfect!
We enjoyed lunch at Castle Howard restaurant.
Nowadays they even allow people to have their wedding there...

See more info about Castle Howard just click it.

We had spent one night at the Post House Hotel in Leeds/Bradford Bramhope, near the Leeds airport.

Here Pam showed us the impressive Minster of York, seen from the city walls and inside.
See here: Walking around the York Walls just click it.
By the way, dear friends Paul & Pam Middlebrook were so gracious for allowing Pieter's niece Judith, to stay with them for several weeks one summer.
Coming from The Netherlands, she enjoyed this country side living and horse back riding very much.

Postcard from York where you can see the Minster of York to the right, from another side.
Bottom you see some of the old medieval city walls, from where my above photo was taken.
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We did have to depart by train around 4:45 PM to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire...
These were the pre-days before our MGA Mushroom Conference in Cambridge later that week.

Still have my Planet tweed woolen suit...
Also the same Italian Piero Erbacci bag from Florence.
Not the pumps I wore in 1985...
Of course Speckie girl and Spooky boy want to be near me.

Photos are from February 16... with Spooky's tail on my left side!
I also have shortened the skirt and with the fabric left over I created four belt loops for wearing a belt with it.
A bonus when you never gain weight!
Wearing my Escada silk blouse, Escada belt and pumps.

Thanks for your visit and comment!

Related links:

{1987 Scottsdale Arizona versus 2014} | previous post about SPAWN MATE SYMPOSIUM where I met Alice Carapiet again...
1982 Sinden Award for Pieter at The Hotel Majestic, Harrogate, England | previous post when husband Pieter bought the Marks & Spencer suit for me

Happy With New Refrigerator

Once in a while we live through something that is NOT working out well.

As our refrigerator suddenly 'died' we had to find a new one.

There was a repair in June but now after having it for 16 years it was gone...

The search was mainly for finding one that would fit inside the opening in our kitchen!

On line search is great and as it turned out we could even get it through the local Home Depot.

So on October 10, husband Pieter did place the order and paid for it.

It took us however 2 months for having it look like this photo!
*

At the time, I was still working at our local OFTC (Oconee Fall Line Technical College) as a tutor and away from home.

Pieter was very much in favor for being able to pay a fee of $ 20.00 for having the old one hauled off by the same people that would deliver the new one.

So here comes the new one...

When they delivered it, the doors from the living room and kitchen had to be removed in order to have it passed through the opening.
Even after taking off the two halves of the refrigerator's French doors!

They did build it up again, once inside the kitchen.

 Pieter happily gave them a tip for all the heavy work and for hauling off the old one, then they left.

Poor husband Pieter had not yet seen that the doors were hung wrong!

When I looked at our new addition, I noticed that the French doors were not evenly in the center.

Wider gap towards the bottom...

Look at the gap between the freezer drawer and the left half of those French doors!

Also the top was quite a difference!

When Pieter went to the local Home Depot to the area where a gentleman had his desk for kitchen sales, he got kind of bullied and sent off with the excuse that his 'complaint' was not valid since the warranty of 30 days from delivery had expired.

WHAT?!

Poor Pieter did not know that I'd replied to the review request right away and that I also got screenshots.

So I stepped in and showed this not so friendly person, a screenshot on my MacBook where he could read my on line review from November 2nd.

Well within the 30 days... 

He started typing on his computer, sending info to the head of sales... telling us that 'she' would give us a call on Monday, this was on Friday afternoon.

I asked if I could have her phone number so we could put that in our iPhone to know who's calling.

We get so many Robocalls that we don't answer.

So he handed me her business card on which also was her email address.

I did compose an email, with all the photos etc.

Never received a call, neither a reply to my email.

Pieter went back to the store again and met a very friendly and courteous lady whom we know.

Her sisters are dear friends and we went to the wedding of her niece.

She stepped in and within days, the delivery people stopped by to FINALLY take care of this problem.

The noisiness of the refrigerator also stopped...

On December 11, after two months of staring at those gaps, it finally got resolved!

When I came home that day from tutoring at the OFTC, I was quite happy.

So what did we learn?

The courtesy of ONE kind employee can solve problems fast and efficient!