Isn’t that a great word? If splitting something in two made a noise, then “bifurcated” would be almost onomatopoeic, as it is, it carries with great emphasis a sense of a parting of the ways. Since I returned to England last year, there has been a touch of a split personality in the writing here, neither wholly flesh nor wholly fowl, leaping from one place to another. A parting of the ways is overdue.

Starting in May 2004, the posts here have continued for more than fourteen years, some have been read by thousands, others have attracted a readership so small that a statistician would record the figure as zero. Over recent months, the number of users, the distinct individual readers, has fallen from 500-700 a week in former times, to a typical total of 300-350 readers a week.

Richard, the long-suffering, constant friend who has kept the whole thing online since 2007, suggested a new start, a new blog. It was an idea that was attractive, but at the same time I didn’t want to entirely abandon a project that has been so long in its evolution. Richard established A Somerset Lad (somersetlad.com) for me and I started duplicating some of what was posted here on the new blog, which is still in a process of development. Duplication seemed daft though, what was the point of writing the same thing in two different places?

So the bifurcation is happening, two blogs with different emphases and different content. For the Fainthearted will continue with its more traditional content, including a return to a Sunday by Sunday reflection on the gospel reading, written in recognition of Jesus of Nazareth as a real person and not a word in a book or a chorus. A Somerset Lad will be words from a rural life, (written in a very rural place), intermingled with the odd comment on this sceptred isle and other random thoughts that might occur.

Poor Richard, who has borne the burden of maintaining the magazine layout of the front page of this site, as well as keeping it free from hackers, spammers, and miscellaneous other online undesirables, will hopefully not have twice the amount of work.

if you are a daily reader, and there is nothing new here, then there may be a post at A Somerset Lad, if you are someone who reads stuff every few days, then you will have to check both blogs if you want to see all of the posts.

This is the first post for years about the blog itself, hopefully, it will be the last for years to come.