Review of 2022 - National sorrow, hot sunshine and political mayhem

Another year has come and gone and 2022 was nationally first a year of celebration to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee but then of deep sorrow at her passing.

2022 was also the year of the long hot summer, football glory and also disappointment and will also be remembered as the year the country had its the shortest serving Prime Minister.

But it will go down in history as the one when the country lost their longest ever serving monarch. Her passing in September sent the country into a period of mourning, prompting a national outpouring of grief and admiration and saw millions tune in to watch the pomp and circumstance of her state funeral.

Floral tributes were left and books of condolences opened across the nation including here in Fenland and at nearby Sandringham where last Christmas and New Year the Queen hosted her family's annual festive gathering.

People queued for hours upon hours to see her coffin as it lay in state both initially in Scotland and then in London to to pay tribute to a remarkable woman and her life of service and duty to her country.

Her 70 years as monarch is an achievement unlikely to be repeated any time soon and now the country and the world at large is ready to see King Charles III officially enthroned as his mother's successor at his coronation this coming May.

It was our very own South West Norfolk MP Liz Truss who now holds the infamous record of being the country’s shortest serving Prime Minister lasting just 44 days in office from September to October, before falling back into the obscurity of the back benches.

Her short tenure in office caused political mayhem with the economy spiralling and deepening even further the current cost of living crisis.

Internationally the world was shocked by Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the ongoing war there. Here in the UK including in Fenland people opened their homes for those fleeing the conflict.

In America there was outcry when outgoing President Donald Trump not only refused to accept defeat when it came time to leave office in January but went on to be accused of causing rioting amongst his supporters outside the White House resulting in fatalities.

England’s women’s team showed the men how it should be done when it comes to bringing football home by winning the European Cup in July.

Unfortunately the men were unable to emulate that success when the World Cup kicked off in Qatar in November making it only to the quarter finals where they were beaten by our old rivals France.

Britain basked in sunshine for much of the summer with record temperatures being hit. the Met Office confirmed the UK's new record-high temperature of 40.3°C at Coningsby, Lincolnshire on July 19.

In the following series of online articles we take a look back over the last 12 months and some of the highs and lows that happened here in Fenland in 2022.

This first segment looks at January, February and March.

The year kicked off in royal style in January for local Paralympian Jody Cundy with the 44-year-old Gold medallist being awarded the CBE in what would be the Queen's last New Year's Honours. It meant a third trip to Buckingham Palace for Jody, whose parents Alan and Ann live in Long Sutton.

He received the honour after becoming the first man to win medals at seven different Paralympic Games.

The biggest crime story of the month was the terror inspiring ram raid at a Chatteris convenience store.

The manager and her family were at home in the upstairs flat when ram raiders ploughed through the front of the Nisa store in Park Street - demolishing the frontage and taking the cash machine.

The manager described the "incredibly frightening" experience of watching the attack unfold after hearing an initial loud bang.

In February the remarkable tale of the aptly named Marco the cat hit the headlines. The black and white fur-ball returned home to his thrilled owner Nikki Rose and her three children in Peashill Road, March, six long years after he went missing.

The explorer cat's whereabouts during the missing years remains a mystery but he was reunited with Nikki after a social media post about a cat sneaking into a garden in Turves Road and stealing cat food.

The sneak thief was revealed to be Marco after Nikki's mum saw the post and asked for photo and the rest, as they say is history.

Chatteris boxer Jordan Gill was celebrating at the end of the month when he was crowned European Featherweight Champion after a spectacular knockout victory against title holder Karim Guerfi.

In February Russia invaded Ukraine causing 100,000s, mainly women and children as the men stayed behind to fight, to flee their homes and cross the border into Poland.

Their plight hit a chord across the globe and also here in Fenland at the start of March.

Appeals for essentials saw collection points spring up overnight across the district with people keen to do their bit to help those families stuck in freezing temperatures away from their homes.

In fact within two weeks 1.7 million had fled causing a refugee crisis not seen on such a scale since World War Two.

The Fenland people's response was huge with collection points full to overflowing as transport companies including Buffaload Logistics in Pymoor geared up to take everything to the Ukranian borders.

Later in the month Ukrainians started to arrive in Fenland as people and family here opened their doors to the refugees.
March also saw the start of a lengthy trial that would eventually lead to solving the mystery of who killed March schoolboy Rikki Neave. James Watson denied killing the six-year-old in Peterborough in 1994 when he was just a teenager. But he would eventually be found guilty of the crime.

To be continued with up next a look back on April, May and June online from tomorrow (Tuesday).