One of the things I have decided to do this year is visit as many small towns within easy travelling distance as I can. Like many people, I am so caught up with the idea of foreign travel I often neglect what is almost at my door. It was in this spirit that I decided to visit Shaftesbury in Dorset today. Although the town has the remains of an Abbey and a museum dedicated to it, everyone who goes to Shaftesbury seems to visit Gold Hill. Another example of the potency of television, this place only really became famous after those Hovis TV advertisements were filmed there. For those who can't remember, the advert showed a young boy with a huge flat cap on his head struggling to ride his butcher's bike - front cage fully loaded - up a steep, cobblestoned hill. As he wended his way up the hill a voice over with a strong Yorkshire accent (his older self) accompanied his trials. " We went to the shops me mam an' me, I bought some licorice the best I ever 'ad. Then something about how 'ard it was cycling uphill, and then: Ooo! twas a grand ride down though" as you saw the little scamp freewheeling downwards legs outstretched either side. But despite the accent and the raggy garb, this wasn't filmed in Yorkshire, oop north, it was filmed way, way south, in Shaftesbury, Dorset. I suppose "Oo arrrrr we did go up them there shaapps did me an muther", wouldn't have caught the image of 1930s impoverished childhood quite so well as those cheeky northern tones. Somethings just are I suppose.

For the second day running, Spellchecker on Blogger is not working. Combine this with clumpy Blogspot and no obvious improvement in the posting service I think I might need some reassurance that it was worth upgrading to Blogger Pro.

On the subject of reassurance at the last count I think I have made the grade on five blogrolls. There could be more, though I don't think so. In fact, I have feeling I am about to be removed from one of them. Damn, what's that expression about one step forward two back.