It’s time to say goodbye.

I’ve been writing local history for the Mudeford Mag and its ‘sisters’ for four years and have contributed 27 columns, including this one.

It was never envisaged I’d continue this long but it’s been fun.

I know some readers will be disappointed as I’m regularly informed that something I’ve written has been enjoyed. Thank you all. There will be the odd one glad to see the back of me including the gent who vented after my Volodymyr Zelenskyy column about a year ago. I’ll happily take feedback and expect people to sometimes disagree with me (the writer’s lot) but I draw the line at impolite sarcasm.

Why did I do all this writing? It was partly for the love of it, but also to spread the word about our local history. Christchurch has oodles of fascinating ‘stuff’ and stories, so I hope I’ve succeeded in passing this on.

Sometimes we neglect the treasures on our doorstep.

So why stop now? Well, the main reason is I’m reappraising. It crept up on me like the barons surrounding King John at Runnymede, but I actually qualify for my state pension from March so am left discombobulated. I don’t feel that age but I must be. It’s a timely moment to think about what I do and maybe to quietly (or not so quietly in my case) leave a few things behind.

You probably know I’m the author of two books but won’t know I’ve had well over 1,300 magazine articles published. What I’m most chuffed about is not the books, nice as that is, but my regular columns in 10 magazines around the country.

In closing I must thank my beautiful wife Val, aka ‘Mrs Steve’, who inspires me to achieve something new every single day. Take care folks and continue to enjoy that history.

Oh, and I’m Stephen John Roberts. One last bit of history. After the Norman Conquest some new names were introduced into England. Two of them were Stephen and John. Seems I’m not as English as I thought.