Site issues

 

This week apart from dealing with what felt like flu I was reminded of a number of experiences I had in the past on this online life where an individual owns a website and leaves it still running until one day it ceases to.

In this particular instance the issue revolves around the death of the owner and things such as the failure to transfer that or there being a plan too pay any hosting related costs such as quarterly bills as it is rare for them to be set up as group concerns with a appointed successor who would take that responsibility one.

What happens is after say the bill isn't paid, the host suspends the site with a "contact us" banner overlaid and when that happened with two sites because nothing was set up, it wasn't that the domain was lost, so was all the hosting.

They became ex-sites.

Potentially it was looking late Wednesday a site I've been at since 2011 was going that way but it seems a payment was made in time so the bill has been settled although other issues such as outdated and hard to transfer into newer site software do need to be addressed in the near future even if the current content is just kept in a read only mode for posterity.

Visits

This week I did visit Framingham castle whilst away on a littles break.

Framlingham Castle is located in the market town of Framlingham in Suffolk. It was built by Roger Bigod, a knight, after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

Mary Tudor, the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon, was proclaimed the Queen of England here on 19 July 1553. Thomas was released from the Tower by Mary as a reward for his loyalty, but retired to Kenninghall rather than Framlingham.

After Mary's patronage, the castle lost much of its prestige although using a brick add on, it did serve as a Workhouse for the poor until the 1834 Poor Law act and a more centralized "Union" system was established 8 miles away.

It had an interesting display about the history of the town and its people over the century's.

Band On The Run Redux

There are anniversaries that you may quite enjoy and there are others that just remind you of how many tens of years have gone by such as the recent anniversary of the 1973 multi-million seller, Band On The Run which was marked on February 2nd with the release of full original album and extended versions on lp record and compact disc.

Too bad there wasn't a limited edition 8 track as as those of us around then will recall there was and indeed I did own the UK edition which sounded rather good where it was played at home and in the car player a lot.

I opted for the single lp version as I have little use for a disc of demos as much as musicologists get a buzz out comparing songs as they evolve and for another this uses the US track listing that added Helen Wheels, a 1973 single to the second side of the UK album.

It came pressed by Optimal in Germany with the original poster plus OBI.

Being cut using a Half Speed mastering system from high resolution files from the original analogue tapes allowed it to sound much better than the original US Apple edition and even challenge the UK which was really good with strong bass.

I was delighted with this edition.

Shini is the Blue Peter 43rd presenter!

 

It has been announced who the 43rd Blue Peter presenter will be.

Shini Muthukrishnan, pictured left, aged 22 from Stafford, will go live for her first show on CBBC at 17:00 GMT on Friday.

She will co-host the world’s longest-running children’s TV programme alongside Abby Cook, Joel Mawhinney and BP pet, Henry the dog.

Blue Peter will be the first TV presenting role for Ms Muthukrishnan whose lockdown videos on TikTok celebrated her British, Indian and Malaysian heritage.

Ms Muthukrishnan, who played badminton for Staffordshire county, recently graduated from King's College London where she studied philosophy, politics and economics.

She said: “Being part of the Blue Peter team is such a surreal and exciting feeling.

“I have really fond memories of Blue Peter. As a kid, I looked up to Helen Skelton, she seemed fearless on screen. She took on incredible challenges with such a headstrong attitude that made me think 'I can be fearless too'.”

Her first challenge will involve taking part in aircraft aerobatics while also on the live show, she will also be attempting to bathe Henry the dog and cook up a tasty treat.

Blue Peter editor Ellen Evans asked about her qualities said "Shini is an exciting new talent, who impressed us with her adventurous spirit, sense of humour, determination and aspiration to have a positive impact on kids’ lives.”

As a Staffordshire resident and West Midlander, I'm delighted.