This is the self-congratulatory one.

When I had to close HDWLIA for reasons I still can’t fully go into, but feel OK enough to put it back up now (https://dmitrihdwlia.wordpress.com/), I was worried. I set up a new blog, this one, the same day and waited for people to either get the hints I was trying to send privately or word of mouth to spread that Dmitri wasn’t dead, but just reincarnated somewhere else, as LCL or whatever you want to call me, and with a new blog.

I wondered if it would work, or HDWLIA was the best it could be. Let’s be frank, it was knackering. I was piling out post after post after post, and it was tiring. I thought I might cut back a bit here, and I do. But the commenters have really stepped up. SimonH is much quicker to the newspaper articles than I am. You know the score quicker than me. I just feel like the Ranter in Chief now…..

I do keep an eye on the hits, especially as I post less frequently now. So when I got 40-odd that first day I was mildly relieved. Then ZeroBullshit blew my amatuerish cover on TFT and you all started finding it. The stragglers are catching up and we are back to our normal mob, with a few newbies.

I am absolutely amazed to say that as of 25 March, this blog topped over 40000 hits in a month. Let me put this into context. The best month of HDWLIA, at the peak of its powers maybe, when I was getting major attention on Twitter from the Aggers and others of this world, was 39,102. With a week to go, and yes, aided by the World Cup I know, I have 40,100 as I write this. I am regularly pulling in over 1500 a day. It’s not a major newspaper. It’s not even a blogging behemoth. But bloody hell. Thanks everyone. It really does mean the world to me.

Keep moaning.