To Linton - home of my great uncle Frank Woollard and Sue's ancient Chalk and Reeve ancestors

Samuel Francis (Frank) Woollard (1876 - 1956) lived at The Shrubbery, Mill Lane, Linton. Some might remember him. When he visited us at Chalk Farm, Bottisham, he got on my mother's nerves because he would invariably produce a couple of unwrapped boiled sweets from his pocket for my sister and I. My mother believed - not without reason - that the insides of his pockets were none too clean. The sweets always had bits sticking to them and had to be washed before we were permitted to enjoy them.

According to a lady cousin of Sue's, 'Uncle Frank' Woollard and her late father, 'Tom' Chalk, were at Gallipoli in the Great War, and according to the memory of the late Mr George Paul, of Bottisham, the two of them (Frank and Tom) 'played football in Asia, Europe and Africa' during their soldiering in that war. It is said that they dined together annually for many years after to mark the fact that they both survived.

In mentioning Tom Chalk (full name Thomas Philip Newlyn Chalk), who was born at Linton in 1884 and died in 1983, who was my Sue's cousin and who was the Chalk of the old Cambridge auctionerering firm of Grain and Chalk, I'm now into Sue's ancestry which includes the ancient Chalk and Reeve families who were once very numerous in Linton as farmers and millers. It is always amusing and interesting to go to Linton, though the place is now much larger than in the 1700s, 1800s and early 1900s.

The sun was out for some of the time and I visited more than 200 homes. I also obtained a nicer picture of the Dog & Duck than I was able to on the 1st of February. Here it is (today's picture). The rain clouds are gathering in the background and we later had some 'precipitation,' as our American cousins say.

No sooner had I seen this wonderful sight than along came a former Bottisham friend, Mr Jason Coles. Jason runs a business called 3D|EVENTS COMPANY - website http://3deventscompany.co.uk/ - and I am reliably informed (by the boss himself) that the company can organise parties for up to 20,000 people at a time. Of course, if I am elected on the 6th of May, we shall need something even bigger than that in order to celebrate properly. In any event, I recommend Jason as a friend to any and all of my many other friends. I was permitted to 'snap' Mr Coles before he moved off and before I moved off.

I moved off to a fascinating and encouraging series of home visits. Once again I can report that there is widespread disillusionment with and distrust of the major parties and their people. Once again I predict that the election is going to be wide open, both nationally and locally.