Penance 1784

This is one of the panels on the Dr Samuel Johnson statue, in the Market Square in Lichfield, Staffordshire. The statue was erected in 1838 and one of the four sides remembers the action of Dr Johnson who stood for an hour, at the age of 75,  bare-headed, in the rain, in Uttoxeter Market, on the exact spot where his father used to have his bookstall. This penance was because he had been too proud to help to sell books.

Uttoxeter has been in the news quite a bit this week, mainly because of young Adam Peaty, the swimmer who won Great Britain's first Olympic medal in Rio. Adam is from Uttoxeter and his family have been featured a lot in the press. He is a great young man, who deserves all the praise and recognition for his single-minded pursuit of excellence. And to add to that, another gold was won by a lad from Stoke, in the kayak !  Good times for Staffordshire.

I'm also from Uttoxeter (well, a lovely little village a few miles outside and I went to school in the town) - and right now, I'm very proud.