Pre-release of Version 2.1.8

[Bjørn Mork]

I'm probably stupid as I never learn, but I'm going to take my chances
reporting succcess again....

The v2.1.x branch from github up to and including commit
1d80707880c1bf94ad1e87be74221a6c7b4cb4c7 has now been running stable for
more than 5 days for me.  All the previously reported problems seem to
be gone.  So I'd say it makes a good 2.1.8 release for Christmas.



Bjørn