IT'S A PLEASURE TO WRITE

Les wonders why so few people write for the Pump; a task he thoroughly enjoys.

Surely there can be no greater pleasure that to put pen to paper even if now-a-days it's more likely to be keyboard to paper as we turn to our computer. And what a blessing the spell checker is? Where would I be without it as spelling was never my strongest subject? So if all of this is so, why do so few people write? In a so-called perfect world our Editor should be overwhelmed by contributors but this is hardly the case. If we take articles "like what I write" I would have thought these would have been an inspiration to others, not because of their content or quality in fact quite the opposite. Surely many a reader would say "well if I couldn't write something more interesting than that" but they then finish it off by saying, "I wouldn't bother" and that is precisely what people do, they don't bother. I don't get this. I don't understand why people don't say to themselves, "well if the Editor of the Village Pump can publish what he writes then my contributions are guaranteed to be accepted whatever their quality because it will certainly exceed his". And yet so many people are reluctant to write and express an opinion. I sure don't get it.

Moving on I have to say how much I enjoy reading Ivor Hook's articles. I have never been in the least bit interested in fishing; I always thought it was all about a worm at both ends but maybe there's more to it than that. So why do I read these articles? It's because of the way they are written. They are so descriptive I get the impression that I am on the river bank sitting next to the writer. I have the feeling that if he wrote on any other subject his writing would be just the same, it's simply quality writing.

All of this is in start contrast to how I write. Often it is critical of something or other but I sometimes wonder to what purpose. How productive is any of this criticism, and if it is non-productive then we could say we are back to the comment I made earlier, "why bother". So should we only write in a non-confrontational manner? Well if we all did that it would amount to a bit of a dull old Village Pump. Fortunately, we have a balance.

Moving on again to something completely different, I have been reading about Thomas Bignold who in 1797 was the founder of the Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society and a few years later the Norwich Union Life Insurance Society. It appears that Thomas was a cantankerous old man. When a potential client ask him if he would insure him against being bitten by a mad dog, Thomas replied, 'No because if you were bitten by a dog I wouldn't consider the dog mad.' Thomas Bignold bad a son Samuel who after a three year engagement, married Elizabeth Jex Atkins, they had six sons and seven daughters. I'm more than sure that if the dear Elizabeth had been able to predict her future she would have settled for a much longer engagement. Six sons and seven daughters, what do you think to that Ladies? I say bring back the good old days.

A certain Lady has just hit me with a rolling pin.

Les Lawrence