Celebration

 

As another unremarkable year draws to a close, The Laughing Horse Awards Committee have been zooming like dervishes in order to determine who will be the recipients of this year's  coveted  blog awards. 

Recognition is important in the world of blogging in order to lubricate the industry's wheels and encourage talent. Blogging has become a worldwide pastime. As I write these words, 2,700,000,000  blogposts have been posted  on the internet this year alone.

Blogging is a vehicle for expression, for shared interests and for making connections with other people around the planet. Our blogs are not subject to the normal controls of government, publishers or the forces of law and order. No wonder blogging has become such a popular human activity.

Without further ado, let us move on to reveal who has been honoured this year before announcing the overall Blogger of the Year. Winners are entitled and encouraged to copy the widget shown below and paste it proudly  into their blogs - perhaps in the sidebar.

The Committee wish to recognise the excellent work of Dave Northsider in West Cork, Ireland. His blog, "Northsider" reflects his peaceful life upon The Sheep's Head Peninsula. He becomes Irish Blogger of the Year for 2020. Similarly, The Committee commends the good work of JayCee who resides near Peel on The Isle of Man. She becomes Isle of Man Blogger of the Year.

There was much argument in The Awards Committee over the work of three particular bloggers. Unfortunately, only one can be The Blogger of the Year. The other two have duly been "Highly Commended". They are Jennifer Barlow in Florence, South Carolina for "Sparrow Tree Journal" and Tasker Dunham in West Yorkshire, England for "A Yorkshire Memoir". 

Both are entitled to display the stylish 2020 widget displayed above.

Before arriving at the main announcement, The Awards Committee would like to commend visitors who leave thoughtful, friendly and encouraging comments on other people's blogs. Many of these visitors do not manage blogs of their own. They are not fawning sycophants but free-thinking people who see no purpose in trolling or seeking to occupy what military historians might call "higher ground". Instead, they tend to leave nice, supportive comments. After all, and this has been even more true this challenging past year, it really is nice to be nice.

And so we come to The Blogger of the Year 2020. (Cue beat of drums and dramatic pause). He is none other than Cro Magnon for his blog "Magnon's Meanderings" who posts from the Périgord  region of south western France. 

The citation was longer the new British/EU trade deal document but here's the summary:-

"Cro Magnon has been managing his eclectic blog for almost eleven years. It is what the French might call a bouillabaisse of things.  In "Magnon's Meanderings" you will find memories, opinions, hopes for the future and objets d'art, plates of food and family photographs. There's his vegetable plot, "Haddocks" and  tales of pet dogs and cats. Always present in the blog's peripheral vision is the love of his life - Lady Magnon.

People may sometimes forget the old adage that "life is for living" but Cro Magnon is not one of those. He has lived his life to the full and continues to do so. This is reflected in his blog. He notes many things and remembers many things. Though he posts almost every day of the year, he is never lost for something to say. For Cro, life is a veritable feast.

He handles reasonable comments with kindness and good humour. Visitors feel that they are being listened to and acknowledged but step out of line and he will whack you with a metaphorical cricket bat."

To visit "Magnon's Meanderings" Please go here.

Cro Magnon tends not to post pictures of his art or himself but here is a self-portrait he painted when he was a much younger man:-

And going even further back in time, here he is as a beardless boy. Cro is on the right:-

Congratulations to Cro Magnon!

&

Happy New Year Everybody!