This was to be our most diverse day in a long time. We began at the village church. The parish church at Steeple Morden has been dedicated to St Peter and St Paul since at least the 14th century. The church was rebuilt in the early 13th century, giving the village its present name.

This was a day of learning about Americans in Cambridgeshire. The 355th Squadron Fighter Group memorial stands outside the old Steeple Morden fighter base (AAF Station F-122). This was manned by American personnel during World War II.
Next stop was the darling town of Ely (name derived from eels, which were historically big here).
Construction of the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity was started in 1083 by the first Norman bishop and a beautiful sight from all parts of the city.

Lunch was at a quirky tea shop that we all enjoyed, observing the local people.
We then toured the Ely History Museum, located in the old Bishop's Gaol, learning much about this ancient town.
We have learned that the best way to see sights here is by the water, so we boarded a ship to cruise the River Great Ouse.

One stop on our amazing day was the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial. Donated by the University of Cambridge, its 30.5 acres lies on a slope with the west and south sides framed by woodland. The cemetery contains the remains of 3,812 of our military dead; 5,127 names are recorded on the Tablets of the Missing. Most died in the Battle of the Atlantic or in the strategic air bombardment of northwest Europe.
The museum was informative and emotional. Two famous people mentioned here are Joseph Kennedy, Jr. (JFK's brother) and Glenn Miller (the bandleader).

Our next Festival of Ideas talk was one Steve chose. Tony Hey, Vice President of Microsoft Research, explored the origins of computers and of ‘computational thinking’. It was so over my head that I was lost. Here are some of the key words...the twin concepts of universality and hierarchical abstraction... ‘File clerk’ model... logic gates to the microprocessor and Moore’s Law... algorithms... Greatest Common Divisor... Butler Lampson’s ‘Third Age of Computing’. That said, Steve thoroughly enjoyed it.
Dinner was our first foray into pub food. The Mitre, a pub of long and venerable history, stands on the site of two former inns and serves delicious fish & chips. Wow.