UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion

My last website was down more often than it was up as the webhost server was repeatedly attacked by hackers.
I've slowly got around to launching a new one. I've transferred some of the info from the old site and some of the still relevant blog posts.
Having just spent a few days in Bath today's post is about that delightful city:
http://www.bjburton.co.uk/category/in...

Looks very slick and clean (is that from 3 hours in the baths?).

Hope this one gives you less grief :o)

Yes, I'm all pruney. Thanks for the good wishes, Jud.

Looks good BJ. I like it because it's clear and easy to read. It's always the young lads who think white writing on black is excellent!

Thanks, Kath. I trust you noticed that the review of your book was one that made the leap to the new site!

I have to confess I was immodest enough to look for it! Thanks me dear!

Nice blog BJ!

Thanks Rosemary.

A nice blog BJ but nowhere to click to say I liked it :-(

Bath is a fascinating place

Thanks, Jim. Not being on Facebook or Twitter I'm totally ignorant about the uses and abuses of social media. I hesitated for a long while over including the Wordpress social media buttons, but this Wiki excerpt persuaded me against it.
" the feature has aroused scrutiny over privacy concerns because the social plug-ins allow Facebook to track visitors to participating sites across the web, even if those visitors do not click the Like button, are logged out of Facebook, or are not Facebook users at all. The Like button is implemented similarly to an advertising network, and as more sites participate, gives Facebook a vast amount of information about who visits which sites, and when. When loading a web page which has the Like button enabled, the user's browser connects to Facebook's servers, which record the URL being visited, and the visitor's IP address and Facebook ID (if logged in). In June 2010 Facebook said it anonymizes this information after three months, and does not sell or otherwise share that information. The ACLU of Northern California cautioned website operators to be careful about installing Like buttons because "they're potentially telling Facebook about everyone who visits their web site, every time that person visits their web site."

My ignorance may well be making me over-cautious.

A few thoughts on the damage done to the Westcountry by the winter storms.

http://www.bjburton.co.uk/blog-2/

The second in a planned series of posts on one of my favourite places - the beautiful city of Bath.

http://www.bjburton.co.uk/blog-2/

A blog, with lots of photos, of our visit to the Broomhill Art Gardens. Not to be missed! (The gardens, that is, not this blog.)

http://www.bjburton.co.uk/blog-2/

I love the horse! And the three cuddly Graces!

Thats really cool. I loved the reflective man.

The cuddly Graces had me chuckling. It took me days to write this blog post because I couldn't decide on what photos to put up - I took hundreds!

I still somewhere hare photos from the Statue Park in Oslo. They would raise a few eyebrows...

Dig them out - always happy to raise an eyebrow or two.

Gingerlily - Elephant Philosopher wrote: "Thats really cool. I loved the reflective man."

That's a much better title for it. The artist calls it 'digital rendition no.3', which doesn't really stick in the mind.

B J wrote: "Dig them out - always happy to raise an eyebrow or two."

They are so old they are on film. I'll see if I can find them but it may take a while.

Here is a sample...
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/44/221...

Wow - action packed!
I take it that's 'Man Throwing Off The Responsibilities Of Fatherhood'.

It certainly SHOULD be called that!

Some chat about our local folk music scene:

http://www.bjburton.co.uk/blog-2/

Eeeh, that were a good read! I loved Charles Causley by the way and have several books of his poems on my shelf. I still play my 12 string guitar and I'm a superannuated hippie who loves folk music. Great blog post.

Thanks, Kath. Glad you enjoyed it. I can see our tastes coincide on many things. Charles Causley was an interesting man, although he always refused to believe that. I can't read 'Timothy Winters' without suffering a bit of eye watering.
A friend of mine, Laurence Green, has written a biography of Causley called 'All Cornwall Thunders at my Door'. It's excellent.

He was indeed. I love Timothy Winters too. He had a down-to-earth view that I love reading still. I think he was a schoolmaster?

Yes, he was. He spent nearly all of his life in Launceston, apart from the war years in the Royal Navy and brief spells in Australia and Canada. He taught at a Launceston school and lived in a tiny cottage with his parents, staying on there after they had died. He was friends with many of our leading poets and has been labelled 'the best Poet Laureate we never had'. I find his work totally accessible and very moving.

I've been catching up on reviews of some books I've read recently - some I liked and some I really didn't!

http://www.bjburton.co.uk/blog-2/

Looks good (: I can't 'follow' it or am I being stupid?

Thanks Katy. I can assure you of two things: you are not being stupid and if there was a competition for being technology-stupid I'd be way out in front. It took me months to create this website slavishly following the instructions in Andy Williams' excellent book on the subject. If any links don't work, or there is some functionality missing, that is entirely down to my incompetence.
Hopefully it won't put you off dropping in from time to time.

Hi Barry. Glad you got something out of my bottle! :)

Hi Kath. Yes, like many a bottle before it, once opened the contents went down well.

May I put your blog link on my New Releases thread? Pretty please?

Of course. Spread it far and wide.

Thanks. Didn't want to assume!

It wont stop me visiting, BJ, but it might be something to consider (:

At a glance Katy, the 'follow' button appears to be a feature built into the site when you use a blog hosted by Wordpress. I can't see it as an option when you just use a Wordpress designed site hosted elsewhere. I'll have a look and see if there's a plug-in that would do the job.

Don't worry about it, BJ, if it's a problem (: I was wondering if there was a widget for it, that was all

More chat about folk festivals and fun in the Southwest.

http://www.bjburton.co.uk/blog-2/

A nice read there, Barry. I agree it's so heartening to see young, talented people turning to folk - although they've probably been soaked in it from babyhood, like ours were!

Thanks, Kath. You're always the first to respond - much appreciated. Yes, it's great to see so many youngsters getting involved in folk, both in the dancing and the playing. Some of the joys of the festivals are the unplanned events that just happen. Last year at Sidmouth,for example, after an evening concert we were in the Yacht Club. There was a group of us oldies with a guitar singing modern folkie stuff (John Denver etc) alternating with some teenagers down from Scotland armed with melodeons playing reels, jigs and singing very traditional songs. It was an absolute delight.

And of course, the beer doesn't hurt! ;)

Folk music without beer is like a day without sunshine.
Do you know Kimber's Men? I think they are from your part of the world.

Can't say that I do.

http://www.kimbersmen.co.uk/

They are excellent. Their double album 'Kimber's Men in Port' is one of my most played collections.

A post of thoughts and pictures on hamboning with Five Finger Frank in Sidmouth.

http://www.bjburton.co.uk/blog-2/

I loved the New Rope String Band - they performed at our Fringe By the Sea last year. The wee boy sitting in front of us clearly was having the BEST time of his little life so far.

We found our daughter's holiday scrapbook recently (she was 7 at the time) with a poster from the local Morris men near the place we were staying - South Lakes. She's never been quite the same since - besotted with folk music and now has a harp. I blame the parents!

Love your posts, Barry. I feel like I was there!

Thanks for the interest, ladies. The NRSB obviously appeal to children of all ages. I come out of their concerts with my face aching.
Next year's Sidmouth Folk Week begins on Friday 31st July, Kath. With a little planning you can REALLY be there. A friend of ours plays the harp. Her husband always has a bad back!
John Kirkpatrick was at Sidmouth running workshops and performing. He turned up one morning sporting a black eye, which he described as 'a Morris dancing injury'. He said, "Go one, say it, everyone else does - 'it's no more than you deserve.'"

A post about a day out at Widecombe Fair:

http://www.bjburton.co.uk/blog-2/