The weather is better - at last!

Today's electioneering has been a joy because the weather is better - at last. I could actually walk the streets of Balsham and delve into the villages of Hildersham and Horseheath with just one coat on, for the first time this year and in this campaign.

It was a joy for two other reasons, too, one being that the people I met were more willing than hitherto - due to the weather being better - to discuss issues more thoroughly and to express their views. Having said that, those views are not changing: they are very often in favour of what I have to say and they are very often extremely derogatory about the party politicians, and it doesn't seem to make any difference as to which party. The people hate the lot of them and have had enough of the lot of them.

The third reason that it was a joy was because, when I 'did' Hildersham - a really charming Cambridgeshire village - I called in at Holy Trinity Church in order to locate the graves of Sue's ggg grandparents, William Reeve (1792 - 1836), and Elizabeth Reeve (née Chalk) (1787 - 1871). They lived at Hildersham Mill. William was a miller. Not only did I find the graves and the gravestone (pictured right), but I also visited the Mill for the first time. It is pictured below and Sue and I have been invited to tea by the present owners.

Horseheath was also both fascinating and rewarding (in terms of support) and the village sign told me some of what I knew and some of what I didn't know. It and part of the village are pictured below.

The sign bears plaques either side of the base. One explains what I knew, namely, that the 1834 Derby winner was a horse called Plenipotentiary that belonged to Mr Stanlake Batson, of Horseheath Lodge.

What I didn't know was that Queen Elizabeth I and King George V had visited Horseheath and that the village sign was given to Horseheath by the late Sir Arthur Marshall, also of Horseheath Lodge, in memory of his wife, Lady Marshall.