Wet wet wet

When I was about eight I begged to be released from the house and its miniature rivulets pouring down the outside of the windows, to play in the rain.  What a wonderfully different experience it was, and I still enjoy the rain.  With waterproof skin, what more do we need but a brolly and sensible clothes; knowing that the ground is being cleaned and refreshed, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, underground aquifers are being replenished, and of course the formerly almost-dry rivers and streams are beginning to flow more confidently again.

All through recorded history people have written about weather which is out of the ordinary, and I have no doubt there will be such an article in next week's local press.

I you live in St Albans, one benefit of ordering a copy of the book through the wwwebsite is having your purchase delivered to you in person by the author, sometimes within hours of placing the order.  This is great for me as I have the opportunity of meeting my customers and conversing with them.  So, please don't fret that you are unable to see SAOEE in the bookshops, or can't order it on Amazon, even though you can see a picture of the cover and are offered fast delivery!  Email me and you will find me on your doorstep the same day or the next.

Of course, the process only begins once I receive your cheque if you live further away, and you do need to add the postage.  Nevertheless, Royal Mail seem to have brought the packages to customers' addresses within two days.  Well done Royal Mail.

While I was passing one part of town yesterday, it struck me that there was one place I just could not remember after so many years.  I knew where it was, because I was driving along Sandpit Lane at the time, but I am just hoping that someone might have a photograph of the large old house called Monks Horton, once lived in by Mr William Page.  Now, of course, it is a close of some twenty or thirty  homes.

Now that the website has been successfully transferred to a new hosting company, there are changes that are about to happen.  One of these is to replace the old Add Memories page with a new version.  This  will contain snippets of information, recollections and other memories which readers have contacted me about.  You will not be able to upload your own text.  Instead, use the email link and I will be able to add an extract, if lengthy, or the whole of a short message.  Full names will not be used.  Although the page already exists, expect to see the first offerings within the week.

Sutton Road bridge 1916.  Contributed by IAN TONKIN

Finally, do look at the Photo Library page for a new photograph sent to me by a reader.  It was taken in the winter of 1916 in Sutton Road.  In it, some rather smartly dressed (probably) employees of Nicholson's are seen using the new raised and fenced pavement under the inevitably flooded bridge.  This replaced the earlier timber boardwalk on the left side.  The photo sits next to an earlier picture taken from almost the same spot.  Click on the photos to enlarge them.