Journal Front Page

February 2004
I hope you will have noticed the changes to the site navigation, made to try and make it easier for you to find your way around. These came about as a result of three main events. Like most web persons, I should imagine, I am always on the look out for new bits of program or information, to make the site better or more useful. In the last couple of weeks, I found the script that makes the menus easier to use, by not requiring a second click on the bar, to go to the required page. At the same time, Robin had been telling me, that people he had been urging to use the site, had told him that they could not easily find his page or make their way around the site in general. Thirdly, I read an article, which made a plea for letting people know what the site (or the various parts of it) were about, to enable them to do what they want to do, which is mainly to skim through it, for the info that they really want. So, this has resulted in ‘easier to use’ menus, with the purpose of each highlighted and explained together with a full listing of the Journal contents on the first page. I hope this makes using this site better for you. If you have any other suggestions, please e-mail them to me.

So much for New Year Resolutions. I have not, as yet, written to all the club and organisation secretaries, asking them to keep me informed of their activities. Why not? I’m not really sure. I could plead lack of time or even lack of interest but really, I think it comes down to the fact that I do not have everyone’s address. I have phone numbers and I did manage to trace a lot by wading through the phone books and getting the address’ that way. But some are not in the book for privacy purposes, some are not listed under their own names but, for example, their husband’s. (Try finding e. g. Violet

Smith, if her husband is listed as Edward!) So? I know what I should do. Phone them up. But somehow it seems silly to phone someone and ask them for an address so that you can send them a letter. Why not tell them over the phone? I expect I will get round to it. Fingers crossed!

I had a new experience over the last month - I bought something from one of those e-bay Internet auctions! It was quite by accident and it happened like this. Our horse is called ‘Alezane’ which is French for a chestnut coloured female horse. She has her own web site, run by my wife, called, naturally, ‘Alezane’s Web’. Every so often, I put the name ‘alezane’ into the Google search engine to check how her site is doing. At the start of December, I discovered that there was a French perfume called Alezane and, as my wife’s birthday was in that month, I thought it would be fun to buy her some. Well, try as I might, I couldn’t find it on sale anywhere and had to give the idea up. Early in January, I was checking out the name on Google again and discovered that there was a bottle of this perfume, which had been used as a tester, available (without its cap) for auction on e-bay. When I looked, the auction had a day to go and nobody had bid for it so, after working out that the sterling price conversion came to just a few pounds, I made a bid and spent the next 24 hours in torment, in case someone outbid me. To cut a long story short, I got it and the postage was more than the item. What was nice was that the seller e-mailed me to ask if we really had names, not numbers, for our houses. She also took a couple of photos out of her window and sent me these as well. I have put up some details and the pictures as a brief news item, just to emphasise what a fun experience it was.

Talking of good experiences, I wanted to get hold of a parish boundary map for Sticklepath a couple of weeks ago and went on the web to the Council’s site. I was very disappointed with what was available and I e-mailed them to that effect. I received a couple of explanatory apologies and one which offered to send me a map by ordinary mail. When the package arrived, there were two very good quality, detailed maps, so I was very satisfied with the service received and e-mailed them to let them know.

I now have four months of usage statistics for the site, which I check to get some idea if all the effort is worth while or not. Some sites have a counter on their front page, which is very nice when you have very large numbers of visitors. I am reasonably pleased with the numbers, so far, but of course would like more. But I try to put myself in the place of others and wonder why I would want to look at any particular site. I have come across many excellent sites in the last few months but only go back if they have something that I want. I have found some awful ones but still go there, reluctantly, if they contain what I am looking for. If you have anything that others might want, please tell us about it so that we can publicise it for you!

Finally, a quickie. If you’ve not heard, there is a new virus to beware of. If you get an e-mail from someone you dont know saying something like “couldn’t deliver your e-mail” and having an attachment with it - DON’T OPEN IT, JUST BIN IT. If it’s too late, you can download a free program from the net to get rid of it - try
http://www.sophos.com/support/

The Journal Village Correspondents

Most of you will already know our Village Correspondents. They are -

BELSTONE - Chris Walpole - acclaimed cricketer, film producer, author and intrepid explorer and a member of the Belstone Village Hall Committee.

SOUTH TAWTON - Barry and Joyce Woods. If anyone knows their way around this area (and therefore knows all the Village news) it’s the owners of Dartmoor Dairy.

SOUTH ZEAL - Robin Tilly. Parish Councilor, Lawman, Photographer, Tractor Driver and now, daredevil flyer over the Beacon Villages area.

STICKLEPATH - I am afraid this Village is not yet covered. Any Sticklepath resident volunteer, to send in a page, once a month, would be welcomed.

EDITOR - Pete Kilgannon. You may not know me, but you can’t have failed to notice my wife’s car - the scarey green, Volkswagen Polo with the sticker for her horse’s web site : www.alezane.co.uk. (That plug should ensure I get a good dinner!)

A Community Website
Our home community is the Beacon Villages - South Tawton, South Zeal, Sticklepath & Belstone. Our aim is two fold. To advertise our area worldwide, to attract tourism and investment. for the benefit of the community. Secondly, to act as a community resource - an information point for the exchange of ideas & an access point for local historical and cultural resources and an enhancer of community links and pride.
We now require more input and subject expertise from all the various interest groups in the community. Contributors can have their column, to change and update at will or maybe just send in something to be inserted as a news item. The monthly Photo Album can include any artwork (a showcase for local artists?) and can become a joint community resource bank. Any local group can add its own page(s) to this site (e.g. South Zeal United, The Sticklepath Fireshow, Belstone Players, etc. Give us the material, we will put it up! The potential is endless!

Please keep your requests and submissions coming. No local event, attraction or service will be turned away. Either e-mail us from the link below or, if you have photos or copy you wish to submit personally, you can pass them to your Village Correspondent or bring them or post them to - Ivy Cottage, Ramsley, SOUTH ZEAL, Devon EX20 2LB. All items will be scanned into the computer and your originals returned unharmed.

E-Mail - Click here - contact@beacon-villages.co.uk