Hertfordshire

Well, it was good to find comments from three members at the Computer Club just now. John Lee also reported that the meeting went well, and members were able to view the blogsite and photos. That's great. Seems you haven't forgotten us either.

Well, after a lot of trial and error, we are back on wireless broadband. There were two problems - one was that the motor home isn't too conducive to wireless broadband reception. Fortunately the modem came with an extension lead, so I have been able to put it out the window. Mind you, it's freezing outside, so there's a bit of a draft. Secondly, it pays to put the sim card in properly! We were fortunate at the last caravan park at Horsham to have unlimited free access to a wireless network. Not so here at Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire.

We left Horsham on Thursday morning, after a great night out with Linda (Tucker) and her husband Peter who have been great fun to meet. I love them dearly, and we all got on very well. Fortunately Linda "gets" John's sense of humour.

Having not had the opportunity to visit Ightham in Kent, we decided to do so on the way to Hertfordshire. It was only a little over an hour from Horsham, but unfortunately it was miserably wet, and got worse during the day and forever after (it is now Saturday).

John stayed in the motor home whilst I made a beeline for the pub in the small village of Ightham where my maternal grandmother Kitty (Kate Elizabeth Palmer)and great grandmother Annie Ashby were born. Fortunately they had a map and I found the places I needed to explore. It was great to go to the church where my ancestors were married and baptised and to see the farm where my great grandmother was born.

We drove through streets which no motor home should traverse (so narrow and no passing spots - just breath deeply and hope for the best) to see the Ightham Common where my great great grandparents lived with my grandmother.

We then drove to Seal, the next village, close to Sevenoaks which is a bigger town in West Kent that may be better known to some of you. Seal was larger than Ightham, which is off the main roads, but even prettier. There are now photos of both on Johns Photo Gallery.

I was able to brighten up the photos, thanks to Picasa! The day was very grey.

From Seal, we found our way back to the A25, the ring road around London, which is the only toll road we have experienced. We paid a pound to travel through the Dartford Tunnel under the Thames on our way to Hoddesdon. I thought that was very cheap compared to the M2!!

However, I was not impressed with the A25 leading to the tollgate. Bumper to bumper (mostly stopped) for three miles before the tunnel. And surrounded by huge trucks coming from Europe and heading north.

Surprisingly, that is our only experience of traffic worse than Sydney. Even in peak hour (rush hour), which we usually avoid the traffic is no worse. Our main problem is squeezing the motor home through narrow streets, and even on minor A roads like the A27 in Hampshire. And parking! What a nightmare. Mostly I suppose because we don't know the towns. In villages we have to park on the curb, and hope cars can squeeze past. There are many places where there is nothing between a hedge and the road.

We arrived in Hoddesdon on Thursday evening, and it was VERY tiring driving. John was not well again, so went back to bed whilst I walked into town via a public footpath - along a lane, over the railway line, through a private field with horses and into a housing estate and through to the High Street. A real short cut and pretty as well. Coming home I stuck to the roadway and wished I hadn't. The footpaths were narrow and non-existent (I had to keep crossing the road), I had to walk through a highly industrialised area and it was twice as lengthy.

However, today (Saturday)despite the weather - 15 degrees, grey with constant showers, we drove into Hoddesdon and went to the library as well as looked at the High Street. No coffee shops for John to access. All had steps. Hoddesdon is a rather "left behind" town, and although it has a Sainsbury's supermarket, it does not have a modern arcade with shops with level access, such as .

At the library we had a bit of luck. We found information about John's 4th great grandfather, one George Cheffins born in 1739 and his career as a joiner. He was reputed to have built a staircase in one of the big houses. His grandson, Caius Cheffins was bailiff to the Marquess of Salisbury in the early 1800s.

So John has a history of skilled artisans in his family, either joiners, builders or masons. He reckons he's married beneath him, since I can only find agricultural labourers, and a yeoman in those pre-industrial times.

Keep those comments coming in. We do appreciate them, from family, old friends and our many new friends at the computer club. Thanks Judy, John, Hazel and Peter for your comments.