After the re-opening of my travels (to an extent) and the local Chinese takeaway, more good news today.
Let’s celebrate good news while we can, the new A14 will knock 20 minutes off my journey north, when there’s a good reason to go north again, of course.
Closer to home, I can now get to the little dormitory vilage of Boxworth in 17 minutes. And why not ?
This is the Cambridgeshire of wide open skies that some folk find inexplicably attractive.
Only 218 souls, probably more people work up the road in Cambridge Services., which was to serve as my emergency loo stop if I found the fields unexpectedly full of folk exercising (I didn’t).
Known only for an upmarket village pub (rare Wells intruder) boasting a restaurant called “Phoebe’s Parlour“,
and as the resting place of former vicar Arnold Kirke Smith, who played for England in the very first international match in 1872. Duncan was at this match, but inexplicably failed to buy a programme that would now be worth £237,000.
By complete coincidence, though I may later claim it was planned, Arnold was previously Vicar of Somersham, moving to Boxworth following a hard-fought transfer battle with Longstanton.
Boxworth has some pretty (expensive) houses, but lacks the street art and quirks, let alone a GBG entry in my lifetime.
You can walk the village in 5 minutes, so I took the bridleway to Conington.
The very definition of undemanding pleasantness, which is South Cambs for you.
I passed one couple of walkers half-way to Conington, was passed by 23 white vans, and noted some furious activity behind the fence just off the A14. I bet it’s going to be a BrewDog, don’t you ?
I was a tad thirsty by the time I reached the Golden Ball, a pub I can’t actually recall ever going in, and you know how I love gastropubs where “the roof space is draped with large tapestries covered in latin script“.
Finally, for our American readers, here’s tonight’s 8pm “Music for our carers” featuring my father and a guest player (Mum was making tea).
I do hope the Battle Hymn of the Republic isn’t offensive.
retiredmartin 
You were looking for a reason to drive through Milton, weren’t you? Love that suspension bridge. I bike over one like it and I think they are really pretty. No offense at all on the song. Any chance they can do “Into This” soon?
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That’s the funniest comment on this blog so far !
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Apparently the comment rendered your other readers speechless.
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Well, like me, perhaps they don’t want to admit that they don’t understand it, Dave.
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I don’t understand half the comments on here. Mine, mainly.
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And I thought it was just me…
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Re the first international match (from the Scottish Football Museum, a great place to visit):
2pm was the official kick-off time but the game would have a fifteen minute delay due to both team’s preparations before the match. Images sketched by William Ralston also reveal that England players warmed up for the match whilst smoking pipes.
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Didn’t everyone smoke back then ?
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“…good reason to go north again, of course”.
Such as a 21st birthday ?
[comment possible because I am catching-up on blogs in reverse order].
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“Duncan was at this match, but inexplicably failed to buy a programme that would now be worth £237,000”.
That will be small change when he sells the secret of his longevity !
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“Follow the red line north-west from the centre”.
I expected a Ted Lowe of Pot Black comment there ;
“For those of you with black and white monitors, the red line is the one that makes a triangle with the two yellow lines and is the hypotenuse”.
[with credit to cliffsnotes.com for the information on hypotenuse triangles]
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“I was a tad thirsty by the time I reached the Golden Ball, a pub I can’t actually recall ever going in…”
On this occasion, I assume it was closed. But I can imaging historians analysing that paragraph in a century’s time and musing why the pub was closed !
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Yes, closed. But a few pubs offering takeouts.
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Middle Britain in a nutshell
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Nice signpost for the bridleways. That type of sign is fast disappearing.
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Good spot, Charlie. Plenty of protective gentlefolk in those A14 villages. Not a great network of footpaths and bridleways, if I’m honest, but the walks are on well maintained paths.
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