Rodmell and Southease

JANUARY: I am always pleased when January is over. I find it a very depressing month, and also a very expensive time of the year for me as all sorts of bills come piling in. Talking to friends, it seems they feel the same, but at least we are on our way to better things and the lovely snowdrops in my garden gladden my heart, as do the daffodils bursting into bud. I can’t wait for the B&B season to start and I’m also looking forward to spending hours in my garden as I find it very therapeutic.
Rodmell & Southease newsRodmell & Southease news
Rodmell & Southease news

WATCHING TV: Spending more time in the house this time of the year means I watch more TV, which in itself is depressing at the moment, if you watch the news and political programmes. Watching Rip Off Britain and some of the awful holiday experiences people have had, makes me feel extremely lucky to have travelled in the years when travel was, for sake of a better word, ‘gracious’. You booked your travel with an agent who went out of their way to give you what you wanted. Your fellow travellers were well behaved, well dressed and airline staff were elegant and well trained. Airports were not packed and ran smoothly as were trains. When you reached your destination, you were not ashamed to say you were British, as everyone behaved well and the behaviour we see would not have been tolerated. I’ve heard from friends some awful tales of bad behaviour by Brits abroad. We always used to have such a good reputation, what is happening to us as a race? Last year’s good summer seems to be inspiring more people to stay in Britain this year and see the wonders of our own shores. Let’s hope we have yet another great summer.

OUR ROADS: Working out in my front garden about 3.45pm on Friday, I couldn’t believe the speed of the traffic and the constant noise, plus the amount of traffic on this C road at this time of day. Whilst on the subject of roads, The Street in Rodmell has some awful potholes, so cyclists and walkers beware. One of my friends took a tumble in one at night as we don’t have lights, and she’d forgotten her torch. The result was broken specs and a black eye. It could, of course, have been much worse. A survey of accidents found that four times as many young drivers had accidents compared to the amount of older drivers. It’s found that statistically older drivers have fewer accidents and give more thought as to whether they are safe to drive. I know that many of my friends will not drive at night now on motorways. Many have to drive, as in various villages, there is no public transport so they have no choice. My friend’s father drove until 100 and died at 104, never having had a driving accident. A certain Royal certainly made news on this subject.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

PANTO: Rodmell Panto takes place this weekend. I have my tickets, do you have yours? They are on sale from the Abergavenny pub. Performances will be at the village hall on January 25, 26 and 27.

CHURCH SERVICES: Sunday, 11am Southease Joint Parish Communion. Sunday February 3, 11am Rodmell Church, Parish Communion.

I NOW HAVE A TABLET: In my attempt to join this modern age. Needless to say I do not get any joy out of using this object, as to me, there’s nothing like putting pen to paper or picking up a telephone and hearing a human voice.

YELLOW PAGES: I hear Yellow Pages will soon be no more. How the many people who do not use modern technology will cope having yet another method of communication being taken away from them and isolating them even more, I dread to think. It’s not until you get old and the ability to learn new things becomes harder that realisation of the pitfalls of modern life sets in. Of course, when you are young, in your mind, you are never going to get old, it’s quite a shock when it happens. I have more and more friends succumbing to dementia and finding they can no longer cope with modern life, frightening.