Yesterday in my blog I featured a couple of headstones in Wymondham Abbey graveyard. With the help of my cousin Belinda, we constructed a short piece about the Howes family and, in particular, James Howes and his son Walter.
Belinda published the article on the Heart Wymondham site (sorry that should have been an emoji heart but I couldn't find one) and by the end of yesterday afternoon we had 170 likes and 81 messages - all supportive.
It was lovely to get this response and I'm sure it won't be the last piece we write and research together either in Hethersett or Wymondham or the surrounding areas. If anyone has an ideas for good stories that they feel should be researched we would love to hear from them.
One of my volunteer posts sees me editing the Norfolk Ancestor which is the magazine of the Norfolk Family History Society. I will be looking to include some of our stories in this. If you have an interest in family history and would like to find out more about the society and how to join just pop along to the website www.norfolkfhs.org.uk
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I think I turned off the TV in record time this morning. I turned it on and heard some professor use the words interpretation and strategising and that was enough for me. Hearing the word strategy is likely to send me screaming to the hills. To me it smacks of theory rather than action "let's all write a strategy" and that way we don't have to do any work but we will at least have a set of rules not to work to."
I presume said professor (didn't stay long enough to find out his name) was referring to the virus or the vaccine but I was in no mood to listen to academic twaddle. So I turned it off again.
It did make me think again about words - particularly after mentioning "stuff" a few days ago.
My mind wandered to one of my favourite words - pottering. It covers everything and means nothing. "what have you done today?" "Oh just pottered about."
It is usually used in connection with gardening and to me means that very little has been achieved but doing virtually nothing has proved very enjoyable. You can actually potter about to your heart's content without ever doing anything much - other than "stuff" of course.
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Went for a seven mile stroll today that took in Hethersett, Great Melton and Little Melton. The water was cascading down the road between Hethersett and Great Melton, the rivers were high and the fields saturated. Walked past Hethersett Memorial Playing Field to see that once again parts are under water.
Hope you enjoy a few of my photographs taken on the walk. My aim has been to walk 150 miles by the end of January. That now looks a rather tall order as, with just two days to go, I am on 134. It would mean a lot of walking round the village tomorrow and Sunday to hit the target - but who knows. I do know that since November 5th when I started recording distances I have walked over 350 miles with the longest walk being 11 miles.
I still remember the charity walk many years ago when I completed London to Wymondham in two and a half days which meant walking well over 30 miles a day. I still remember the blisters, the knee pains and the calf strains.