Author: Hugh W. Roberts

My name is Hugh. I live in the city of Swansea, South Wales, in the United Kingdom. My blog covers a wide range of subjects, the most popular of which are my blogging tips posts. If you have any questions about blogging or anything else, please contact me by clicking on the 'Contact Hugh' button on the menu bar of my blog. Click on the 'Meet Hugh' button on the menu bar of my blog to learn more about me and my blog.
Image with a white background with a desktop computer and camera with the words 'Monthly Round-Up - October 2024

Did You Miss Any Of These? Monthly Round-Up – October 2024

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts

Here’s your chance to catch up on the nine blog posts published in October 2024.

Hugh’s Views and News is at the heart of great conversations and engagement. Did you join the debates and conversations? If not, why not jump in and let us know what you think?

  • Question: Do you know the name of this strange-looking fruit on this tree?

What Type Of Tree Is This? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

  • Do you have a life-changing event you’re proud of?

Flash Fiction – How To Ice A Cake And Change Your Life

  • Question: Have you spotted a rare double?

Are You Seeing Double? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

  • Are you seeing too much spam on your blog? How To activate Akismet’s spam setting in WordPress to significantly reduce spam comments and streamline your blogging experience.

Turn This Setting On To Stop Seeing Too Much Spam On Your WordPress Blog

  • Do you use excerpts in your WordPress blog posts? If so, there’s an ongoing issue with them. WordPress has now fixed this problem. Read on for more details.

Is This WordPress Problem Affecting You? It’s Been Reported

  • Question: Have you ever seen more than one ghost simultaneously?

Are You Ready For Halloween? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

  • Do you use excerpts in your WordPress blog posts? If so, there has been an ongoing issue with them that has now been fixed. However, for the fix to work, you must take action. Read on for more details.

WordPress: Excerpts Are Working Again!

  • Question: Could you beat me at this game?

Do You Play This Game? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

  • Question: When did you last see something eerie looking out from a window at you?

Halloween #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Comments are closed here. Please leave any new comments on the original posts.

Image with a white background with a desktop computer and camera with the words 'Monthly Round-Up - October 2024
Your chance to catch-up on posts published on Hugh’s Views And News.

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Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Halloween #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts29 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Photo of a jack-o-Lantern looking out from a window of a house.
Who’s watching you? Happy Halloween.

Not sure what Wordless Wednesday is or how to participate? Click here for full details.

Linking to Sunday Stills hosted by Terri Webster-Schrandt – Theme: Eerie.

Are you participating in Wordless Wednesday? Although I am not hosting this challenge, you can leave a link or pingback to your post in the comments section to help promote it to other bloggers.

To help those with eyesight-impaired vision, please remember to complete a description of your photo in the ‘alt-text’ and description boxes of the picture in the WordPress media library. For more details, check my post, Adding Images Or Photos To Your Blog Posts? 4 Essential Things To Do.’

If you want to know more about the photo featured on this post, ask me in the comments section.

Did you miss last week’s Wordless Wednesday?

Follow Hugh on Social Media. Click on the links below.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Do You Play This Game? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts52 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Black and white photo of a chessboard and pieces on a glass table in a room with other furniture and pictures on the walls.
Can you play Chess?

Not sure what Wordless Wednesday is or how to participate? Click here for full details.

Linking to Sunday Stills hosted by Terri Webster-Schrandt – Theme: Black, Black & White.

Are you participating in Wordless Wednesday? Although I am not hosting this challenge, you can leave a link or pingback to your post in the comments section to help promote it to other bloggers.

To help those with eyesight-impaired vision, please remember to complete a description of your photo in the ‘alt-text’ and description boxes of the picture in the WordPress media library. For more details, check my post, Adding Images Or Photos To Your Blog Posts? 4 Essential Things To Do.’

If you want to know more about the photo featured on this post, ask me in the comments section.

Did you miss last week’s Wordless Wednesday?

Follow Hugh on Social Media. Click on the links below.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

WordPress: Excerpts Are Working Again!

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts33 Comments

Earlier this week, in my post, ‘Is This WordPress Problem Affecting You? It’s Been Reported.’ I outlined a problem where excerpts no longer appeared in WordPress’s new post email notifications.

Is This WordPress Problem Affecting You? It’s Been Reported

I’m delighted to say that the problem has now been fixed. Unfortunately, users will need to change the ‘For each new post email, include‘ setting back to ‘Excerpt,’ as the fix has caused the setting to default back to ‘Full text.’

Do the following now if you want your new post email notifications to only show an excerpt.

  • On the dashboard of your blog, go to Settings – Newsletter.
  • Scroll down to the Emails sections of the Newsletter settings page, and change the ‘For each new post email, include‘ setting back to ‘Excerpt.’
  • Click the ‘Save Settings‘ button.
Image highlighting where to change the 'For each new post email, include..' setting to 'Excerpt,'
Change this setting to ‘Excerpt.’

Your new post notification emails will now only show an excerpt rather than the full post.

The ‘For each new post email, include‘ setting can also be found on your blog’s dashboard under Settings—Reading.

My thanks to Dave Martin at Automattic and WordPress for fixing this problem.

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

Any questions? Leave them in the comments section.

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Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Are You Ready For Halloween? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts36 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Photo of some fairy-light ghosts hanging from a fireplace.
Have you ever seen more than one ghost at the same time?

Not sure what Wordless Wednesday is or how to participate? Click here for full details.

Are you participating in Wordless Wednesday? Although I am not hosting this challenge, you can leave a link or pingback to your post in the comments section to help promote it to other bloggers.

To help those with eyesight-impaired vision, please remember to complete a description of your photo in the ‘alt-text’ and description boxes of the picture in the WordPress media library. For more details, check my post, Adding Images Or Photos To Your Blog Posts? 4 Essential Things To Do.’

If you want to know more about the photo featured on this post, ask me in the comments section.

Did you miss last week’s Wordless Wednesday?

Follow Hugh on Social Media. Click on the links below.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Turn This Setting On To Stop Seeing Too Much Spam On Your WordPress Blog

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts51 Comments

Is your WordPress blog getting too much spam?

Do you want to free up the time it takes you to filter through spam looking for genuine comments?

Turn this setting on now.

Light blue image with the words 'Turn This Setting On To Stop Seeing Too Much Spam On Your WordPress Blog' in white text.
Does your blog get too much spam? Turn this setting on.
  • On your blog’s dashboard, go to Jetpack – Akismet Anti-spam.
Image highlighting Jetpack - Akismet Anti-spam on the dashboard of a WordPress blog
Click Jetpack – Akismet Anti-spam
  • On the page that opens, look for the Settings box. Under Spam Filtering, ensure ‘Silently discard the worst and most pervasive spam so I never see it’ is selected.
Image highlighting the 'Silently discard the worst and most pervasive spam so I never see it' setting on WordPress.
Ensure ‘Silently discard the worst and most pervasive spam so I never see it’ has been selected.
  • Click the ‘Save changes‘ button.

You’ll now see much less spam in your blog’s spam folder.

Obviously, you can continue to review all spam, but this can be very time-consuming if your blog gets a lot of spam.

On average, I now see less than 10 spam comments per week in my spam folder. It used to be hundreds. Turning this setting on has helped.

On the same page, you can also see how much good work the Akismet anti-spam software has done in capturing spam comments on your blog. Here’s a snapshot of my blog.

Image showing the stats of how much spam has been blocked on Hugh's Views And News.
How much spam has been blocked on your WordPress blog?

Akismet has caught over 308,000 spam comments since I started blogging in February 2014!

Occasionally, spam comments will get through, but you can help WordPress by marking them as spam. Likewise, if a genuine comment ends up in the spam folder by mistake, mark it as ‘not spam.’

Something else you may find interesting is that WordPress now deletes spam that is over 15 days old in the spam folder, so you no longer have to do it! Another win! Thank you, WordPress.

Don’t stress about spam!

I’ve come across some bloggers who allow spam to stress them. This does nothing but spoil the enjoyment blogging brings.

If your blog receives too much spam, turn on the setting outlined in this post. You’ll soon see a vast decrease in the amount of spam you see.

How do you deal with spam on your blog?

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

Did you enjoy this post? Then you may like…

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Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Are You Seeing Double? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts40 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Photo of a double-rainbow over the rooftops of several houses
A double-rainbow over rooftops

Not sure what Wordless Wednesday is or how to participate? Click here for full details.

Are you participating in Wordless Wednesday? Although I am not hosting this challenge, you can leave a link or pingback to your post in the comments section to help promote it to other bloggers.

To help those with eyesight-impaired vision, please remember to complete a description of your photo in the ‘alt-text’ and description boxes of the picture in the WordPress media library. For more details, check my post, Adding Images Or Photos To Your Blog Posts? 4 Essential Things To Do.’

If you want to know more about the photo featured on this post, ask me in the comments section.

Did you miss last week’s Wordless Wednesday?

Follow Hugh on Social Media. Click on the links below.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Photo looking down at the top of an iced Christmas cake with figures of Father Christmas and a snowman, and a Christmas tree and iced stars with silver balls on the edges of the stars.

Flash Fiction – How To Ice A Cake And Change Your Life

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts44 Comments

How To Ice A Cake And Change Your Life – by Hugh W. Roberts

I was so proud when I received the certificate for my professional grade in cake decorating. I’d recently been made redundant and needed a new skill.

Being the only man in the 18-week course had its advantages. By week three, Kate made it clear how much she liked me. But there was a problem. I had been married for 12 years and still deeply loved my wife. This inner conflict deeply troubled my feelings, and for a while, I was torn between my devotion to her and my growing attraction to Kate.

By week 13, not only had Kate changed my life, but the love I had for my wife had slowly dripped away, leaving behind an almost forgotten heavy burden of guilt and regret for the betrayal. However, I was proud that I could now bake and ice cakes, something I’d always dreamed about doing professionally.  

But a tiny part of me wasn’t proud of my situation regarding my affair. I couldn’t deny the sense of self-worth a much younger woman found me attractive and (in her words) loved me. Yet, a more significant part of me felt I was on top of the world.

Then, during the last week of the course, the week before Christmas, everything eventually came together. As I finished plastering the wall next to the fireplace, I questioned what I’d done over the past six months. Feel proud, I kept telling myself. Briefly, a dark cloud hung over me and only dispersed when there was a loud knock on the front door.

“Have you done it?” asked Kate as she pushed past me as I opened the door to her.

“I told you not to keep coming here; the neighbours will see.” I protested. “We need to give it more time.”

“To hell with the neighbours; I want proof that you love me,” replied Kate. “Show me what you learned at the cake decorating class.”

I thought she wanted to see the Christmas cake I’d iced, but she went to the living room and stood before the fireplace.

“Nice work!” Kate announced. “I’m proud of you for what you have done for me. Is she..?” she asked, pointing at the newly plastered wall.

Icing cakes not only helped me get a new job as a professional cake maker but also taught me how to plaster the remains of my wife’s body behind a brick wall of the fireplace.

Photo looking down at the top of an iced Christmas cake with figures of Father Christmas and a snowman, and a Christmas tree and iced stars with silver balls on the edges of the stars.
An iced Christmas cake with decorations

Written for Esther Chilton’s writing prompt – Feeling Proud.

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Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

What Type Of Tree Is This? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts53 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Photo of a bare tree with lots of pairs of shoes and trainers tied to the branches.
Does anyone know the name of these strange-looking fruits?

Not sure what Wordless Wednesday is or how to participate? Click here for full details.

Linking to the Sunday Stills photography challenge hosted by Terri Webster-Schrandt. Theme: A world of weird, wild and oddballs.

Are you participating in Wordless Wednesday? Although I am not hosting this challenge, you can leave a link or pingback to your post in the comments section to help promote it to other bloggers.

To help those with eyesight-impaired vision, please remember to complete a description of your photo in the ‘alt-text’ and description boxes of the picture in the WordPress media library. For more details, check my post, Adding Images Or Photos To Your Blog Posts? 4 Essential Things To Do.’

If you want to know more about the photo featured on this post, ask me in the comments section.

Did you miss last week’s Wordless Wednesday?

Follow Hugh on Social Media. Click on the links below.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Can You See In The Dark? #WordlessWednesday #Photography

Published on by Hugh W. Roberts23 Comments

Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Photo taken at night showing a grass verge and highlighted trees in the background
What can you see in the dark?

Not sure what Wordless Wednesday is or how to participate? Click here for full details.

Are you participating in Wordless Wednesday? Although I am not hosting this challenge, you can leave a link or pingback to your post in the comments section to help promote it to other bloggers.

To help those with eyesight-impaired vision, please remember to complete a description of your photo in the ‘alt-text’ and description boxes of the picture in the WordPress media library. For more details, check my post, Adding Images Or Photos To Your Blog Posts? 4 Essential Things To Do.’

If you want to know more about the photo featured on this post, ask me in the comments section.

Did you miss last week’s Wordless Wednesday?

Follow Hugh on Social Media. Click on the links below.

Copyright @ 2024 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.