By way of the rather lovely clickrich who I keep meaning to link to (and now have) an image of a memorial to a bomber that crashed on t’Moor during the war. I know nothing about this. Must have completely missed the story due to being over on the wrong side of the Pennines. Maverickapollo has the full story linked here. Can someone give me directions please?
The local paper has re-done its website. Which is a bit of a shock. No more massively out of date articles, no more letters from over a year ago (actually no letters at all as they haven’t uploaded those yet). Now it’s all spankingly up to date and interweb-friendly.
Course, the fact the Ilkley Gazette has increasingly little to do with Ilkley and uses more and more stories from sister papers in Yorkshire sort of undermines the project, but at least now we know why they’ve been cutting back on the paper version.
Well, this blog might have fallen off the page as far as the main google index is concerned, but on thier new blog search system it’s number one for Ilkley. But the more-ites come in at number two, and not with their blog bits neither. So some work is still required methinks!
Well, thought it was time for a play. Don’t know, however, how to get Typepad to treat the image as only one column wide and start the other column at the top of the page.
Also don’t know why the word ‘Rocks’ appears in huge letters above the banner in Opera.
Anyone kow what’s happened with Google? Has it changed the way it deals with blogs? I used to be in the top 20 or so entries from ‘ilkley’. Not a massive surprise given how many times I mention it. I’m now not in the top ten pages (I stopped looking after that point). AFAIK I haven’t been dropped off anyone’s links.
Indeed, I’m now much, much higher up google returns for ‘paris hilton naked’ than I am for ‘Ilkley’ (though yorkshiresoul is of course higher on any search for pics of naked celebs (and non-celebs)).
‘insignificant whining voice will now stop’
Seems someone nominated the Yorkshire crap post for the British blog roundup.
Thank you to whoever it was, cos without the links from there my Sunday hit count would have been about 12. Which, given my average hit count is a lot higher, suggests most people come here from work. Better than helping out the man, I guess.
Finally we make it on technorati. That took, like, five attempts…
Not that I care about publicity.
Oh no.
(mumbles to self…dogging, swinging, Yorkshiresoul, kicking old ladies downstairs (I swear someone’s come here on a google for that before now))
Harrumph
Sorry about that. Post-election blues. And my hit rate dropped from near 1,000 down to about 20 per day. Let’s try this–"Abi Titmuss naked", "Paris Hilton naked" oh and with WImbledon coming up "Maria Sharapova naked".
Not that it matters. With exams for the next three weeks, then two weeks of sleeping to recover, then a lot of Ashes cricket and then a new job starting (not in Ilkley) in September, this blog will be in inevitable decline.
Move along, nothing to see here!
See, I disappear for a few days (couldn’t be bothered to turn ‘puter on), and by the time I get back I’m getting a ludicrous hit-rate. 5,000 in the last three days.
Course it’s all the same people.
BIg props (sorry, I’m listening to some of that young person’s populr beat music, I believe it’s called rap?) to yorkshire soul. Not so much for the amusing pictures, but for the accounts (with images) of numerous walks across our local countryside. If I wasn’t already here; if, for instance, I was living overseas, I can imagine they would make me as homesick as Steve Harmison. Well done that man.
Amusingly, a search on ‘Anne Cryer racist’ or variations thereof on google brings back this site as No.1 response.
That damn googledog, putting words into mah marf.
The parish council have decided in their own, totally undemocratic, way that they might provide some funding for ilkley.org. Funding, presumably from the money provided by us punters in the form of our parish precepts. Given that pravda’s website is down so often, they obviously want a secure way of reaching the masses.
However, their argument is based on ilkley.org being the most popular site about the town. Which it isn’t. As detailed elsewhere on this site, those behind .org have also been rather underhand in their dealings with other online Ilkley presences. Which surely makes them less than suitable as recipients of our hard-earned ca$h?
Increasingly it’s becoming obvious that the best way to find out what’s going on in Ilkley is to look either here (where there’s a very jaundiced point of view) or over at our friends on ilkley-more. The latter, thanks to its frenetic forum frolics, discusses local events and rumours that our venerable local paper never gets round to (if you read the gusset, you’d be convinced that there’s no crime at all in this fair town).
Harrumph.
I know, I know..I’m sorry. To all my loyal readers, a heartfelt apology for being away for so long. It’s just, well, I’ve been busy.
Or what I think of as busy anyway. Service will be somewhat erratic over the next few months as I struggle to complete my course while struggling to keep my job.
Found this by way of one of the referrers. Seems to be a graffiti/art-crimes site. Only the content gets all very strange, like William Burroughs trapped in a local newspaper.
And half way down the page, they start channelling the name of this blog. Why? WHo? How? On other pages they do the same with some rather more well known (and international blogs). Kewel…
Well I haven’t had much time recently (as you might have noticed), but it’s good to see you’ve been keeping the site going amongst yourselves.
I’ve added a comments section so we can keep track of just how much Frazer and Elvis post (more than me I should think).
This blog has the facility for multiple authors, which might be interesting.
The Parish Council is thinking of investing in ilkley.org (to which I won’t link here). Perhaps before doing so, they should have a word about the unethical methods used by the Wharfedale Online Trust (which runs the site) to maintain visit numbers.
Our friends over at ilkley-more have been running a very successful, lively site for a couple of years now. For reasons that escape me, they never picked up the .co.uk version of their name. The WOT have now done so, and pointed it at ilkley.org. A clear case of passing off.
They’ve even set up a forum, in imitation of -more’s best feature. Currently there’s five posts on it, three from more regulars wondering why they’ve squatted someone else’s URL.
I’ve just re-read a few of these posts and noted the number of typos.
I do apologise.
With the sound of the Holmes Field fireworks ringing in me ears, I will endeavour to do bettere!
In further searching for local blogs (it’s been a busy week, but eventually I got bored and played on the webnet thing), britblog has a couple that adhere to my rather strict interpretation of the rules…
So, we bring you the delights of Forest Gate in SOuth East London. A little less personal than what you’re reading, but acting rather more responsibly too!
And then, through the Beeb, there’s a whole host of Scottish island blogs, some from businesses, some from people enjoying being wet and windy and cold (much like those of us living on moors do…)
And it’s not a smalltown blog, but it’s listed under the community area–searching for a new dog? This place might help. Or bring tears to your eyes. Whichever.
You will possibly notice the addition of a button over ——> there linking to the no ID campaign. While I realise this is sort of nothing to do with Ilkley alone, it being to do with all of us, and this being my site, I’m adding it anyway and breaking my own resolution..
And if anyone replies with ‘but if you’re not a criminal you’ve got nothing to be scared of…‘ I shall immediately block their IP address for holding such facile, pathetic and infantile views.
No, if I’m not a criminal, I shouldn’t be treated like one.
More politics at some time in the future
Running at a stupid number of hits per day now. Very odd, how are you all getting here (well, yes I know what you’re searching for, but why is this site appearing on those searches now?)
within ten days I’ve dropped from first to fourth page on google. *grump, sulk*
Thanks to my dear friend Dorian, I found they work for you which brings together various feeds covering Parliament. It allows one to search on Hansard, etc.
Most importantly, it brings together the voting record, latest speeches, latest travel trips and register of members interests for all our beloved representatives. Check it every so often and see that they’re being good. Our local MP, Ann Cryer’s is here.
Democracy works better when you know what they’re up to!
I’m getting over 200 hits a day currently. 80% of these (unfortunately) are about dogging and cottaging. Indeed, I currently seem to come quite high in google’s search for such tings.
So, just to repeat…’nothing to see here guys, nowt much to do in Ickley…move along’ Buy yourselves a life on the way out…
I should have predicted it, but the mention of dogging earlier in the week has really boosted my stats.
This’ll probably do likewise.
Now, I know there’s a swinging scene in Ilkley, and I assume that there’s probably some dogging too, but, given the lack of public toilets and the complete darkness in the woods at night, I can’t imagine there’s much of a cottaging scene any more.
Sorry to disappoint the regular visitor to this site from google.
…using titles for posts like ‘Ilkley Property’ rather than something puntastic is a blatant attempt to clamber up the greasy pole that is google fame and fortune…
See, I wander away for a few days to move residence and lots of people start commenting. Maybe if I wandered away permanently, this place would over-take ilkley.org on that damned google thang.
Or not…
A look at the latest ratings, and this site has moved up to No. 12 on Google when searching for ‘Ilkley’, and has gone top ten with yahoo. It’s not hard to see why, given, with blogs, the number of times the title is repeated on one page. Soon to be No 1 on google, and then we take over the world…
However, what is very strange is the review of Treacle Moon being no. 1 on google when searching for, uhhrm, ‘Treacle Moon’. Given that it’s also the name of a very successful restaurant in Newcastle with lots of sites attached to it, you’d expect us some way down the line. Google is a bit screwed, or gives rather too much weight to blogs, methinks!
Sometimes, voyeurism is good.
There’s sites like this, where you have no idea what’s going on, know nobody involved, but it’s a form of escape…
Seems to be that some of them were once at Ilkley Grammar, so it’s on-topic. Which is important.
My considered opinion is, hmmm….
Thanks to a variety of contacts, this site has been doing rather well on Google recently. It’s good to notice that if one should get the spelling right, and Google for ‘Visit Baht’at Country’, the official site comes second and my attack on it comes first, which is sort of heart-warming.
And then if you should happen to be searching for ‘breaking glass’ and don’t really want to know about that dreadful old Hazel O’Connor film (I drink my coffee and you drink your tea indeed), you’ll get a top ten link to here.
Of course, just to ruin the party, D. pointed out that Google is all up the spout at the moment and we should all be using vivisimo.
But it rather begs the question of whether I should be attempting to get top google searches in everything. Maybe I should restrain the headline puns for a minute?
