John Owen Smith’s log for 2021

27th December 2021

Christmas went well, with good food, drink, and company – along with several board games. Some of us stretched our legs on Christmas Eve to visit the Theatre Club's young rowan tree just round the corner (see three generations of the Bower brigade there, right), and on the Day itself we walked down to the Holly Bush in the village for a free midday drink. Other than that, we generally stayed snug indoors in either of Nos. 12 or 19.
We're now waiting to see if Boris will let us put on the pantomime next month or whether it will be panpanicked off. Fingers crossed! [In fact we postponed it until March]

Deb and Tallulah fear
their fate with the boar! …

… but survived to post their cards
in the Victorian postbox
at Monmouth …

… overlooked by none other than
Charles Rolls, of Rolls-Royce fame

13th December 2021

Two more 'clicks' towards Christmas: this weekend we successfully ran the annual Christmas Concert in the Village hall (see photos of me and Dil doing 'Baby, It's Cold Outside', and most of the company on stage at the end). We hadn't been able to do it last year due to Covid restrictions, and we thought the same might happen this year too – but we managed to sneak it in – although audience numbers were down due to fears of 'omicron'.
Then yesterday we also managed to have the annual pub lunch with my daughters and their families inside a pub – last year we had half a meeting outdoors!

A sloop (not 'John-B')

Self-explanatory
isn't it?

The 'Medway Queen' paddle steamer
which helped at Dunkirk,
now being renovated at Ramsgate

A rare Edward VIII
post box

Steps with ceramic tile risers
à la Pugin …

… and nearby —
not many 'clucks' to Xmas!

Van Gogh was 'ear!
in Ramsgate

Next day we were in Canterbury:
Dil, Sarah, Dave on the bridge
by Westgate

A French welcome —.
especially for those from
Nord/Pas de Calais!

Geoff, telling tales!

View over Canterbury
from Pin Hill

Our lunch stop at Tiny Tim's

1st November 2021

Pantomime rehearsals are going well, and as yet no sign of any Covid problems (touch wood!).
I had my 'booster' Covid jab last week, and no ill effects. Let's hope it staves off trouble.

Last night, being Halloween, the Theatre Club organised a 'spooky' evening in the village hall.
I was master of ceremonies (see right), and a good time was had by all.

Early this morning I shifted the car off the drive ready for a delivery of firewood later today, and the windscreen was iced up – first frost of the season.

For old time's sake, we visited
the beach at Embleton with Dunstanburgh Castle

We also revisited the Great Map
of Scotland, near Peebles
(see 2015) now with water round it

One of general Wade's bridges
between Inverness and Ullapool

We did about 120 miles of the '500' route, and found several useful info boards

A typical road round the
north-west of Scotland

We never discovered
what the question was!

Smoo Cave near Durness

Dunnet Head,
the top of GB!

The ferry to Orkney
coming in to dock

Causeway to South Ronaldsay
on Orkney

Italian Chapel on Orkney

Inside the Italian Chapel,
which had been a Nissen hut

The Gloup on Deerness

Causeway to the Brough of Birsay

Strata at Yesnaby

Stone at Steness
(not Easter Island!)

Ring of Brodgar

Ring of Brodgar

Jarlshof Prehistoric &
Norse Settlement on Shetland

Info on the tombola
at St Ninian's Isle

Of course, I had to go across
hoping the tide wouldn't turn

… and the 'star' on the
street to prove it!

But it gave someone
the hump!

A street in Lerwick – we
didn't drive down this one!

A friendly native
of the Shetlands

Our hotel from across
the water …

… and close up, from the garden.

The coast at Eshaness …

A creek cutting deeplly
into th cliffs …

… and strange rocks in the sea.

What you expect to find
at the north of Shetland?

A damp stop in Stirling
on our way home

… and a final reminder:
Dil's friend in Lerwick!

20th September 2021

Yesterday I organised a "Here's Headley" event on the village green. We do it once evry two years, usually inside the village hall, but because of fears of Covid restrictions we decided to have it outside this year.
The sun shone – in fact it was a bit too warm at times! – and the 24 stallholders all seemed very happy at the end of the day.
On the right is a photo I took of the 'shopping avenue' that Zak and I had marked out, with stalls on each side.
The question now is – will we move back inside the hall next time? – or is outside always better? The consensus seems to be to go outside again – but I wonder if they'd have thought that if it had bucketed down with rain this time!

13th September 2021

Here we are, at it again! After a Covid-gap of two years we were back doing our Dramatic Walk over Hindhead Common yesterday.
This seems to have become an annual event (pandemics permitting) to coincide with the Haslemere Walking Weekend.
The cast consisted of the 'usual suspects' who mostly remembered their lines and positions though, as usual, there was a certain amount of re-jigging of parts due to people's availability on the day.
The weather was kind, and we were followed round by an estimated 30-40 people, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy it – as did we!

6th September 2021

It was nice to get out walking in the sun again yesterday. There were 11 of us (plus a dog) for an expedition along the banks of the local River Wey. Here's the group (except for me!) – survivors posed on the sluice bridge at Passfield, having just hacked their way through nettles and thorns along a 'permissive path'.
At the end of the walk, most of us retired to the garden of the Holly Bush in Headley for a drink or two. Happy days!

30th August 2021

We visited Devizes this weekend to see the Red Bandits on stage at the Fulltone Festival.
Here they are (right) at the sound check.
They are an excellent band with a lively repertoire, proving that ukuleles aren't just toys.
See a previous performance on YouTube (and yes, that is a bass ukulele!). Do book them if you can.

23rd August 2021

Dil has decided to paint the wooden chairs in the conservatory black.
Here they are (plus some stools) lined up on the lawn waiting for the paint to dry.
Luckily it was a fine day!!

2nd August 2021

Hearing the National Anthem playing as we won another gold at the Tokyo Olympics, just for a bit of fun I thought I'd find out if we could ever have physically, in the words of the anthem, sent her "Victorious, Happy and Glorious" – and it turns out we could, at a stretch of imagination!

HMS Victorious

HMS Happy

HMS Glorious

19th July 2021

Today is supposed to be the real 'Freedom Day' when all Covid-related restrictions are lifted – but very few people believe it's the end of it, and masks in shops still seem to be the order of the day.
Yesterday we had a picnic in Pru's garden (see photo) for all those 'folksters' who would have been in the summer show this weekend, if we'd been allowed to put it on. The weather was gorgeous – and frankly it would have been a tad hot on stage.

The Boot Inn, at Boot!
We were in Room 7

Stepping stones
over the River Esk

I did like the clarity
of their signposts

The path to Stanley Ghyll Force
currently closed after restoration of the path went wrong!

The National Trust steam gondola
on Coniston Water

Terminus of the 'Ratty Line'
at Boot

14th June 2021

So – it's official that the promised end of lock-down on 21st June has been postponed for at least 4 weeks.
That puts paid to any ideas we had about putting on a show in mid-July. It will now be rescheduled for September.
Fingers crossed that things will be better by then.
Meanwhile – it's been a good year for the peonies in our garden.

Dil by the pot in the arbour
at Sissinghurst

Holiday house
at Sissinghurst

Lucky black cat
on road sign

Dil outside the ice house
at Scotney

Spike Milligan's grave
at Winchelsea

Lunch at the New Inn, Winchelsea

15th March 2021

Yesterday I upped my calorie count from 300 to 400 – that is, the figure on our static bike showing the number of calories used in a ride. It wasn't pre-planned, but I had Alexa playing Status Quo tracks and I just got carried away. I didn't feel too over-wrought afterwards, so perhaps it'll be my new goal.
They also say that some mental activity while pedalling improves the generation of endomorphins, or something, so as well as playing music to keep me going, I also look at the shelf of random books in front of me (see picture) and as I pedal along I try to remember what's in them. I suppose they show a broad range of my interests. What do you think of that?

22nd February 2021

This week it was the saga of the freezer. Our big American-style one had stopped freezing and we decided to replace it with a smaller one, which was duly delivered by Currys on Saturday. We'd also paid for them to remove the old one – but the men took one look at it and said it would have to have the doors removed first, and as we hadn't paid for that they couldn't take it! We can't remember seeing that mentioned on the Currys website. After they'd gone we removed the doors, but too late. It's now standing in the middle of the kitchen (see pic) waiting for us to find another way of getting rid of it.

11th January 2021

The first Zooming of Headley History went well last Thursday evening. We had over 50 screens logged in, and estimated that nearly 90 people watched it from as far afield as Huddersfield and Herne Bay.
Sadly we forgot to press 'Record' on the night(!), so next day I did it all again, just to myself, and the recording of that is now on Youtube.

The other event of the week was managing to get to the dentist, during lock-down, to have a filling replaced. The staff were dressed like storm-troopers, but we all survived the event.