Anyway first things first. Welcome to all my new members of this blog. I hope you find at least something that I write about of interest. And I have got my 400th member.
When I started I thought that if I could attract 50 readers I would be doing well, but to reach eight times that amount is great. Hopefully I can now push on towards the big 500. On any given day well over 300 people visit the blog.
For anyone new - just what is this blog about? Well it's a real mix of my thoughts, my ideas, history, music, literature and anything else that comes into my rather muddled mind. Forgot sport.
I read yesterday from one social media post that some people have given up watching football and now just watch You Tube. Sounded a bit potty to me, but then I had a look at a few things on You Tube and could immediately see why.
I wanted some information on North Norfolk and within a few minutes had found a host of photographs (some my own admittedly) and pieces about that area including a series of programmes on walks along both the Peddars Way and the Norfolk Coastal Path.
These programmes were put together by a gentleman calling himself Simon A Bloke in the Woods. He's a kind of Bear Grylls.
Peddars Way is a 46 mile stretch starting at Knettishall Heath just outside Thetford and moving along old Roman Roads and tracks to the North Norfolk coast at Holme-Next-The-Sea. The Norfolk coastal path is 84 miles long from Hunstanton to Hopton. It's actually a series of paths that run a touch higgledy piggledy and at times run inland.
Simon A Bloke In The Woods wears a big Australian style bush hat, carries his home on his back and is the kind of dude you would like to have a pint with. He is a whizz at heating noodles in a tin can with a stove that folds into virtually nothing. In fact he's just like a magician, producing food, stoves and even a tiny blow up tent from his backpack.
I couldn't quite understand, however, why he needed to wild camp on the North Norfolk coast when he told us he had parked his car at a youth hostel in Burnham Deepdale and got the Coast Hopper bus to his starting point at Hunstanton. He got to a point where he decided he was knackered but decided to pitch a tent rather than get the bus back. Oh well it takes all sorts.
I couldn't find out all that much about Simon. Perhaps it's better that he remains a bit of a mystery. On his Instagram page he says: "My name is Simon and I'm a bloke that spends a lot of time missing about in the woods" which is presumably why he calls himself Simon a Bloke In The Woods."
His You Tube channel is at
www.youtube.com/c/Simonablokeinthewoods
Simon has over 121,000 subscribers to his You Tube channel and has had over 12 million views. Mind you he has a way to go to catch my figures on You Tube. My channel has a massive 9 subscribers and 1,215 views. OK I'm trying.
The thing I love about Simon and many others is the way they share their world and their passions on You Tube and other social media. No longer do you need shedloads of money to make documentaries. Anyone can do them with the right equipment and enthusiasm and a bit of practice and some of the results are quite astounding.
No longer do you have to search the TV channels to find something about Norfolk (providing that's what you want to find of course). You can now narrow the field down and find something about virtually every town and village in the country and most of them are very professional (with a small p). You can even find something on Karen Close where I live.
So I can quite see why some have decided to watch no TV and just stay with You Tube.