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.
Sometimes, I struggle to find a subscribe or follow button on blogs. I came across one recently where there wasn’t one. I spent ages looking and even left a comment asking how to subscribe to receive more posts, but the host didn’t reply to my comment!
But I’m delighted that WordPress now makes adding a subscribe (to my blog) button to all your posts (past and future) even more effortless. And the best part is that once you switch on this setting, you won’t have to do it again.
Is it easy for visitors to follow your blog?
Where and how to switch on the Subscribe Block button.
On the dashboard of your blog, go to Settings – Newsletter.
On the Newsletter settings page, look for ‘Add the Subscribe block at the end of each post,’ and slide the button to the ‘on’ position.
Slide the button to the ‘on’ position.
Click the ‘Save Settings’ button.
That’s it! The ‘Subscribe’ block will appear on all of your posts (past and future), making it easy for anyone visiting your blog to follow you.
This is what the block looks like if you’re already subscribed to the blog or have just signed up.
You’re following my blog. Thank you.
How easy is it for a new visitor to follow or subscribe to your blog?
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Pingbacks are a vital tool in the blogging world, fostering connections and increasing site traffic. Are you making the most of pingbacks or missing out on their benefits? This post details their benefits, creation, and anti-spam measures.
Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.
Has anyone seen my shoe?
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.
I don’t use the WordPress Reader nearly as much as I should.
I get email notifications when new blog posts are published by the bloggers I follow. This makes sense as I only follow around 55 blogs, most of which publish no more than a few times a week.
Am I missing out on not using the WordPress Reader? I think so, yes! But why?
Tell me why you use or don’t use the WordPress Reader.
One of the reasons I stopped using the WP Reader was that when I was following over 500 blogs, I felt like a hamster constantly running around a wheel in my endless battle to reach the top of the reader. I never reached the top, so I thought I was missing out!
However, I occasionally use the WordPress Reader to search for posts on subjects I enjoy reading. In my opinion, this is where the WordPress Reader is at its best!
For example, I recently entered the word ‘WordPress’ into the reader search bar and was presented with a long list of blog posts in which ‘WordPress’ had been used as a category or tag (this shows how important categorising and tagging your posts is).
But before I discuss some of the search results, let me first say that, unlike some bloggers who seem to think WordPress has deleted the ‘Reader,’ the WP Reader has moved.
Where is the WordPress Reader?
If you’re using a desktop computer, the WP Reader is now located in the top right corner of your blog. Look for the pair of spectacles icon.
The WordPress Reader icon has changed and moved.
Click on it, and you’ll be taken to the WordPress Reader.
On mobile phones and tablets (using the Jetpack app), the WP Reader icon (spectacles) is located at the bottom of the screen.
What I found in the search results!
I was delighted to see some of my posts appear in the search results. However, I was more interested in the posts from blogs I don’t currently follow.
One of those posts that grabbed my attention was from Mitch, who blogs at The Power Of Story. Mitch’s post, ‘What’s Up WordPress?‘, was about the sudden ups and downs of his blog’s number of subscribers/followers. Indeed, I’ve noticed the same thing happening with my blog.
My subscriber/follower stats have become like a fairground rollercoaster ride. Some days, I lose a lot of subscribers/followers, and then the numbers suddenly return, although not the same subscribers.
I did some digging and found that WordPress are now actively deleting spam blogs and blogs run by spambots. That’s a good thing, especially since I’ve been manually unsubscribing them for many months. WordPress is unsubscribing these blogs for me, although I will unsubscribe any I find myself.
Have you noticed your subscriber/follower numbers going on a rollercoaster ride recently?
Another post that grabbed my attention from the results page was from Kevin, who blogs at Chef Kevin Ashton. Kevin’s post, titled ‘The Thorny Issue Of WordPress Likes.’ touched on a subject I’ve often written about – the ‘like’ button!
Love it or hate it, the ‘like’ button is something just about every WordPress user and visitor will use. However, Kevin touched on the subject of ‘guilt’ by not using it, especially when he doesn’t have enough time to visit and read blogs.
I’ve been there, Kevin. Many bloggers feel guilty or stressed about not clicking ‘like’, visiting blogs that follow them, or leaving comments. Yet, in my opinion, nobody really cares that you can’t always visit their blog. I’ve discovered that leaving one engaging comment occasionally that shows you read the post is much more appreciated than leaving short, non-engaging comments just to prove you visited. However, you may not have read their post.
I’ve written many posts about blogging guilt and stress. In my last post on the subject, ‘Stressed Or Feeling Guilty About Blogging? Please Read This Post. Let’s Keep Blogging Fun,’ many readers spoke up about how bad they feel when they don’t have the time to read blogs, click ‘like,’ and leave comments, often resulting in blogging feeling like a chore rather than something that should be enjoyed.
Nobody should ever feel obliged to read posts, click the ‘like’ button or leave comments. Keep blogging fun.
How do you deal with blogging stress or guilt?
The happy and sad sides of blogging!
It was also lovely to see blog posts celebrating milestones on WordPress in the results. From celebrating 15 years of blogging on WordPress to publishing their 100th post and some folks being notified that their blogs had achieved half a million visits, these posts brought a smile to my face.
Of course, posts complaining about how bad WordPress is and the problems bloggers are having also appeared in the results. Although I only read a few, most of the reported issues were related to WordPress’s changes, and the author often confirmed in the comments section that the issue(s) had now been resolved.
Personally, I’m pleased that WordPress does make changes. If they left things alone, the platform would quickly become outdated and dull, as would all our blogs. WordPress would lose many paying customers, and we’d all lose our blogs if they went out of business. I used to hate change but learned that adapting to it is much less stressful than fighting it
Are your blog posts appearing on the WordPress Reader?
I always check that my blog posts appear in the WordPress reader. To do this, I follow my blog and check the reader immediately after publishing a post. If it’s not there, I know there’s a problem.
There are several reasons why your posts may not appear in the WordPress Reader. The main reason is that you add too many categories and tags to a post. WordPress allows up to 15 categories and tags combined. Your post could be marked as spam and won’t appear if you add more, so ensure you do not add more than 15 tags and categories (combined).
There may also be technical reasons why your posts don’t show in the reader. If you don’t see your posts, contact WordPress. They’ll be able to help.
That’s it for today. I’ll share other interesting posts when I do more searches on the WordPress Reader.
Why Do You Use The WordPress Reader?
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Thursday Doors is a photography challenge hosted by Dan Antion, who blogs at No Facilities.
The whole Thursday Doors thing is about sharing pictures of doors that catch your eye. Loads of bloggers get involved each week and give a shout-out to Dan’s post. Dan also encourages everyone to check out each other’s door pictures and drop a comment.
I’ve participated in Thursday Doors in the past. It’s great fun, and although there is no pressure to participate every week, you’ll find Dan has built up a great Thursday Doors community.
Here’s my second entry for 2024.
Is this the door to inside the sandcastle?
What do you think? I wonder if this door is the opening into the sandcastle. But what do those strange symbols on the door mean? Maybe they say, ‘Do not enter.’ Or, worse, they could invite danger, saying, ‘Come on in.’ Would you step through?
Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.
Hello Autumn
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.
Time To Leave, Time To Arrive – by Hugh W. Roberts
“Good afternoon, transport helpline; how may I be of assistance?”
“Is that the transport helpline?”
“It is, yes. How may I be of assistance?”
“I’d like to book some transport, please.”
“For you, or is the transport for somebody else?”
“It’s for me.”
“Have you used us before?”
“Yes.”
“For security purposes, could you provide your password’s first and fourth letters?”
“W and T.”
“And your date, time and place of birth.”
“January fourteenth, Twenty-One-O-Five, St Mark’s Hospital, Cardiff, Wales.”
“Thank you. You are a little young to leave now, although you can book the transport up to twenty years in advance. Are you sure you want to go ahead and book now?”
“Yes.”
“And when would you like your transport to arrive?”
“Within the next hour, please.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Let me check if your driver is available. Some chillout music will play to keep you relaxed while we check your driver’s availability. Please hold the line.”
(Several minutes later)
“Good news, your driver is available and will be with you at ten past eight. Please ensure you have the correct payment. We no longer accept American Express.”
“Thank you.”
(Ten past eight.)
“Your driver has arrived. Enjoy your trip, Mr Evans. Thank you for visiting. We hope you enjoyed your stay.”
“Hello, Mr Evans, I’m Mary, your driver. You probably won’t remember me, but I transported you into this world. Mine will have been the first face you saw and the first hands to touch you.”
“Hello, Mary. Pleased to meet you again.”
“My goodness, did you scream when I delivered you into this world. You screamed the hospital down. Already had enough of this place, yes?”
“Yes, they’re destroying this planet. It’s time to move on. Please transport me to my next destination. I hope your hands are warm this time.”
Time is the enemy for all of us, especially Mr Kingston, who needs to frantically clean his house before time runs out and his visitors arrive. But why the panic?
A difficult choice of lip colour, comfortable purple shoes, a new green dress, and nostalgic gold nail varnish set the stage for an unexpected encounter.
Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.
What makes an excellent forage find?
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.
Cee Tee Jackson recently published an interesting post about Children’s television. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and left a comment about some of my memories of Children’s TV. You’ll have to read his post to find out the details.
The post inspired me to write about my memories of not just watching television but also of television sets. I’d love to hear about your memories of television, too.
What did you watch on your television set?
How it all started!
My first memory of a television set was a black and white one with a 24-inch screen that my parents rented from the local electrical shop.
It was square-shaped with four legs that stuck out after being screwed on. On the set was a button for changing the channels and two dials, one for sound and one for brightness.
It reminded me of a spaceship. I’d often ask my parents if I could ‘watch the spaceship’ rather than asking if I could watch television.
In those days, you had to ensure you were in front of the television when your favourite show was about to start. There were no video recorders, catchup TV or streaming services. If you missed the show, you had to wait for it to be repeated (if lucky) or ask somebody who had watched it to explain what happened.
Back then, television sets had to ‘warm up’ after being switched on, and it could feel like an eternity for the picture and sound to come on, sometimes resulting in you missing the start of the show. Heaven forbid if the picture rolled and the aerial had to be adjusted.
I remember my grandparents having an even older television set than the one we had. Whereas my mother would call into the shop to pay the weekly rental, my grandparents had to put coins into a slot on the back of the television to get it to work. Someone would come from the shop every week to empty the coin box. I always thought it was the biggest ‘money box’ I’d seen.
Our First Coloured Television Set
Many years later, I remember the excitement in our house when my father announced that we were getting a ‘coloured television.’ Most shows would be transmitted in colour, and a box was installed on the wall next to the TV to switch channels. It wasn’t quite a ‘remote control’ but was the first step towards not having to press anything on the set to change channels.
The change to a ‘coloured’ television set also meant I could watch shows like ‘Pot Black’ in colour. Pot Black was a weekly snooker show, first shown every Monday evening on BBC2. Now, my father and I could see all the different coloured snooker balls without guessing which one was about to be potted! It made all the difference.
Does anyone else remember that theme tune to the show?
Two of my favourite detective shows, which I remember watching with my father and which seemed much better in colour, were Charlie’s Angels and Cagney and Lacey.
Charlie’s Angels – Watched For Different Reasons!
I loved watching Charlie’s Angels, as did my father, although for different reasons. Whereas I was amazed by how three young women solved violent crimes without a hair going out of place, my father was more interested in Farrah Fawcett-Majors.
Before watching the following video, can you name the other two actresses who played alongside Farrah Fawcett-Majors?
By this time, my parents had separated, so I didn’t mind that my father fancied Farrah. Little did he know that I was more interested in her husband, Lee Majors, who played Steve Austin in the TV show The Six Million Dollar Man, which was well before its time for artificial intelligence.
Cagney And Lacey – Why My Father Didn’t Understand!
My father was more concerned about my liking of Mary Beth Lacey, but for the wrong reasons. It wasn’t that I was into women who were old enough to be my mother (or so he thought); it was that I missed my mother a lot when my parents separated, and I saw Mary Beth Lacey more as a mother figure, somebody whom I wished was my mother.
As my love of television and television sets grew, it was no surprise that my second-ever full-time job was working as a salesperson in a television shop, selling and renting out televisions.
But change was on the way. I was there when the launch of the videotape recorder changed how we would gradually watch television shows in the future.
Apologies if any of the videos did not play for you.
What are your earliest memories of watching television?
Did you ever have a black-and-white television set? What was it like watching shows on it?
How did the transition to a coloured television set change your viewing experience?
Do you have any favourite TV shows or memories associated with watching television?
Leave a link to the opening credits of one of your favourite television shows from the past.
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WordPress users often face problems, but they may not always be caused by their blogging platform. Device issues, internet browsers, poor blog housekeeping and retired themes can all contribute to problems. My post outlines what to do if you’re experiencing issues with using WordPress.
WordPress users often face problems, but they may not always be caused by their blogging platform. Device issues, internet browsers, poor blog housekeeping and retired themes can all contribute to problems.
My post outlines what to do if you’re experiencing issues with using WordPress.
Hugh's Views & News 