www.The-Eversdens.co.uk   Progress Report    January 2008                             Back to Tail Corn Reports

The village website continues to grow. It now comprises no fewer than seven separate accounts. Each free account provides 25MB of web space. To give you an idea of what that means, the space dedicated to all the Parish Council minutes has so far used up under 1MB of its 25. The Picture Galleries section, on the other hand, is well into its second batch of 25MB. Past Events is into its third.

Altogether the whole site now has a massive 13,660 files! Recently I have been putting together a document explaining the structure and mechanics of the site – partly to get a handle on it myself. I have to say it would be useful to have the whole thing on one account, but the task of changing all those links doesn’t greatly appeal to me. So it looks as though it will have to stay as it is.

The web site costs the village about £25 a year. Just the domain name and the What’s On calendar have to be paid for. Good value?

Over 15,000 people visited the site in 2007. It would be interesting to know how many of the 300 or so dwellings in The Eversdens can link to the internet. Diarmuid Coyle’s efforts to establish a worthwhile Eversdens On-Line facility have not yet taken off. Don’t you think access to 300 letterboxes with a click would be handy? No need for house-to-house leafleting. No excuse for missing the Film Nights! Why not sign up? It takes one click from the Introduction page of the site.

The computer most definitely is used by many as a central communications/entertainment/resources facility in the home. Others still have the computer tucked away in a cold closet where it is fired up from time to time under protest for a specific purpose. Broadband is the key to freer usage. When you have half an eye on your phone bill, the internet is stressful! Broadband comes at a price, of course, but because the price is fixed it feels free. Where’s the logic in that?

I have a few plans for 2008. Eversdens Ahead, the visible face of the Parish Plan, should get busier as the plan gets underway with its questionnaire and fact-finding. The section on the proposed wind farm may hot up if the scheme reaches Stage 2 consultation. I plan that the web site will remain neutral on that issue. There will be more on the villages’ Polar Connections this year.

The web site is proud to be linked with Tail Corn. More and more cross-references are made between us. Three free issues a year demand much of Ann Bennett and Julie Maling. Generating revenue to cover printing costs is a huge task. It is pleasing to see people being directed to the web site for updates between issues. Thanks to Jack McCollum, the web site has a link to his archive of past issues of Tail Corn – a truly rich account of village life going back to 1976. (This service had to be withdrawn in 2008 but the CD of back issues is still available. DF)

It’s getting difficult to avoid repetition with regard to the web site’s front page pictures and the galleries of photographs. I heard of one village website which boasted a picture of each resident at his or her garden gate. What do you think? Perhaps I should stick with the dogs and fill in the gaps I left last time.

Please feel free to click “email your comments to the editor” on the Introduction page. I get lots of “word of mouth” feedback but precious little electronically. I promise to consider your suggestions – if they are a physical possibility!

David Farnell    10th January 2008  (From Tail Corn  Winter 2008)