So, this blogpost marks an anniversary for me: I have now
been blogging weekly about Loughborough for six months. And what a busy six
months it’s been!
Before I started this blog, I’d been thinking about how to
use the internet and how to share my amateur research with interested people,
especially since the web pages I had from about 1996 to 2005, had been useful
to all kinds of people. I used to get emails from people regarding the web
pages, and was particularly chuffed to get an email from a former deputy
university librarian saying that he’d found my family history web pages really
useful when he first started doing research into his own family history.
I’d also previously tried setting up a wiki on
Leicestershire, and although I did create something, I found that this didn’t
really lend itself particularly well to what I wanted to do, and updating was
quite cumbersome.
So, when I learned that Loughborough was in danger of being
included in a 2nd edition of a book that listed the worst 50 towns
in the UK, I realised I had to do my bit to improve the reputation of the town,
and decided a blog would be a good vehicle for this. I chose the Blogger
software because I was already using this for my work-related blog (which I did
in my own time, and which has taken rather a backseat since I’ve been focussing
on the Loughborough blog!) so I knew how to use it.
Originally, I had a plan for the blog, but let’s be honest,
when does one ever stick to a plan? There were to be a series of posts each
month: One a campaigning one; one an update on important initiatives in the
town; one focussing on a Loughborough resident; and one focussing on a specific
area of the town.
The first month did go according to plan, with an initial post giving my reasons for Loughborough being great and why it shouldn’t be
included in a book about the 50 worst UK towns. The second post was about the
magnificent In Bloom competition, which Loughborough has entered for the last
few years. This was followed by the first spotlight which was on the beautiful Queen’s
Park. The final post of the month was the first
of a series of “Who was” posts, featuring Dr Eddowes [of course, I have subsequently found more information about the Drs Eddowes, and will post this sometime soon].
The second month started well, with a post outlining the
importance of Loughborough’s world-renowned firms which, it was hoped, would
help keep Loughborough out of that wretched book, and was followed by an update on the In Bloom competition.
The next scheduled post should have been the second spotlight: Luckily, this
went according to plan and the spotlight was on All Saints Church [with apologies for entitling this post All Saints Parish Church: I know it's not the parish church, but I also know that a lot of people call it that]. However, the next “Who was” was postponed, and its place filled with a
feature on allotments.
William Clark was the focus of the next “Who was” post,
which appeared after the allotment one. The
next post described some of the “lost houses” that were featured in an exhibition
at Loughborough Public Library,
and was followed by an update on the results of the worst towns publication.
The open air play in the park, the Charnwood Roots project, the Loughborough
Archaeological Society meeting and a comedy show in the public library were the
subject of the twelfth post.
Continuing the theme of Loughborough having a lot to offer,
the next post comprised a list of places to visit and things to do in
Loughborough. Ashby Road was featured as the next“Spotlight on” and proved to be quite a popular post with you. In
case you thought Loughborough had nothing to offer in the way of culture, the
next post aimed to put you right!
By far the most popular post was the photographic record of Remembrance Day,
2013.
November sees the annual visit of the fair, and this was the
topic of the next post “Spotlight on”, and some of the coincidences and experiences I had in Loughborough and
Lichfield was the topic of the next post,
by which time we were approaching Christmas and activities to mark the
occasion were starting to happen.
The next meeting of the LAHS was the sole topic of my next post, as the life of John Bley was so fascinating, but it coming up to Christmastime meant
that my own Christmas preparations featured in the next, a pictorial, post. The final post of 2013 focussed on the
consequences of the burst water pipe at Kegworth for residents in Loughborough.
I wanted to ring in 2014 with my first post so I did a bit
of research into the “bawble” makers of Loughborough,
and followed this with some information
about local initiatives and developments. Finally, those infamous Luddites and their Loughborough connection was the
focus of my last post.
Along the way, I’ve discovered a lot of things! If a thing
is worth doing it’s worth doing well, and if a thing is worth doing well it’ll
take a long time to do!!! I haven’t read a novel in six months, but I’ve had my
nose stuck in the local history books, I’ve spent hours in the local studies
part of the library and I’ve been out and about in the most bizarre of places
with my camera.
From the outset I decided I’d like to illustrate my words
with my own pictures. Although I’m a librarian and I should know all about
copyright law, I’m not sure I do, and so the only safe option was to take and
use my own photographs. This proved to be difficult for a number of reasons:
I’m not good at taking pictures; finding time to go out and about was tricky;
whenever the weather was nice I was busy doing something else (mostly cooped up
in a semi-basement office!); identifying and being able to take pictures of
things I wanted pictures of! However, along the way I’ve learned a bit more
about digital photographs and although I can’t “photoshop” them I can now put
the blog address on them.
In reality, sourcing good, relevant photographs has proved difficult
and has, in fact, been the reason why you’ve had to put up with lots of wordy
posts, when I would have preferred to be a bit more visual. Actually, if the
blog stats are anything to go by, it seems you prefer to see a few pictures as
well! And talking of blog stats, I’m pleased that posts on the blog are
averaging 55 visitors per post, although some have reached the dizzy heights of
325 views and lows of only 5! The remembrance page, which has had 325 views,
consisted only of photographs, and the next most visited page was the walk down
Ashby Road, which was also heavy on pictures. Those of you who didn’t read “Fun
in Loughborough” (and there were a lot of you as this post was only viewed five
times!) missed a treat – the open air play in Queen’s Park – a first for the
town – the opportunity to get involved in the Charnwood Roots project and help
document and remember the Loughborough area for posterity, and more! It’s still
there if I’ve tickled your tastebuds!
If there’s something you’d like me to feature, do let me know either by commenting below, or contacting me directly at dyer dot lynne at google mail dot com.
If there’s something you’d like me to feature, do let me know either by commenting below, or contacting me directly at dyer dot lynne at google mail dot com.
I’m sure when you’ve been reading the posts, you will
have noticed that there have been some false leads and promises. This was not
intentional, but was simply because I set myself too much to do! The “Spotlight
on” and the “Who was” features really take quite a lot of research, and I haven’t
always got as much time as I would like to devote to this. So, I shall put my
neck out and say, look out for future posts on a street in a quiet backwater, a
Rector with a penchant for water, a bank manager, and some local houses. Oh
dear, here I go again, promising too much!!
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