West Meon ....

Season of peace on Earth and goodwill to all men continues to New Year, New Decade ... which seems rather excessive, not so much for all the peace and goodwill - though perhaps including all women and other genders might be a good idea ... anyway, all the excitement is a boost to retailers of stuff we don't need along with moneylenders providing the wherewithal to pump up the bubble of personal debt ...

Meanwhile in Stanhope the Community Christmas Day event goes well enough .... a New Year escape to Brockwood Park and the Krishnamurti Centre uncovers new philosophers as well as old ones, including Peter who claims to have finally written the equation for the unified field theory, though mathematical illiteracy prevents its presentation here ... and lack of academic credentials or access to the peer review network prevents proper publication ...

A Monday visit and lunch with a locally based love, along with a walk, leads to plans for an accompanied Camino, maybe from Porto, in May ... a first after five years of solo walking, though by no means the first Portuguese Camino ...

New Year's Eve includes a walk to West Meon and a visit to the very busy cafe, where three metal detectorists engage in deep conversation ... Lee, a roofer by trade, son Jack a carpenter, father Peter a bricklayer, explore matters esoteric for a while ... Peter volunteers an early association with the Kray twins, notorious for their method of disposing of their enemies in the supports of bridges along the M1 motorway, though without further details ... the encounter concludes with a viewing of a press cutting framed in the cafe showing some of the ancient treasures they have detected and dug up from the chalk fields nearby ... fascinating ...

Perfect timing for trip both ways with quiet traffic and no roadworks the whole 305 miles. .. New Year Radio 4 offers broader fare than political panto ... only one hitch-hiker, Ben, briefly after Winchester going from a friend's place to his parents at East Meon. .. recently graduated in P.P.E at York and currently volunteering in the Calais camp ...

A brand new decade and still curious, still fit and healthy ... Happy New Year dear readers and thanks for your attention and feedback ... maybe 2020 will finally see Wear&Dao the book!