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Webwatch |
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Webwatch |
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Watching the web has been a regular news activity for Local History Online since 2001, and we have been establishing reciprocal links with other websites since this site was established in 1997, when the number of local history websites could be counted on the fingers of a few hands. It has all come a long way since then. There are drawbacks with the web. Probably the most annoying thing is the number of websites which have no postal address or telephone number in the contact details, just an email address. This is changing. Businesses and charities registered as companies have to include this information on their websites by law. Hopefully, this requirement will be extended to all websites before too long. In the meantime we would like to see all websites include a postal address in their contact details voluntarily. Emails are now our biggest source of news about local history activities and new websites and this fact is reflected in how ‘Webwatch’ has grown in size over the years. There is so much out there that we all need a little help in finding information which may interest us. Hence another of our periodic requests that as well as sending us information about your own activities on the web, please send us details of any websites you come across which you thing may be of interest to other readers and web users. www.llanteghistorysociety.blogspot.com is a brilliant and simple solution to the problem which confronts many societies who would like a website of their own — Llanteg History Society created a blog! Blogs are almost exclusively used by individuals for a wide range of activities, from on-line personal diaries to being devoted to a particular activity, such as family history or in my own case I do a blog about my local park. Llanteg is north-east of Tenby in Dyfed and the site contains a wealth of historical and topical information about the village and, because of its immediacy, has a lovely friendly feel, as if you know the place. I was encouraged by a friend to set up my blog and it took me no more than a couple of hours to do. It's very easy to add images and links to other websites. To see what can be achieved this is a ‘must see’ website. www.pelsall-history.co.uk is the website of Pelsall History Centre, which is located between Walsall and Cannock in Staffordshire. The Centre is open three times a week and welcomes visitors. It is also close to the A5 trunk road, so if you are in the area on a Monday, Thursday or Saturday afternoon why not break your journey in Pelsall and support this volunteer-managed heritage centre. If the Centre is like the website, it will be an enjoyable and restful experience. www.jewishmuseum.org.uk is devoted to promoting London’s Jewish Museum which is located on two sites. At Camden Town, the History Gallery traces Jewish history in Britain from the Norman conquest to recent times. 129–131 Albert Street, Camden Town, admission £3.50 (£2.50 concessions), Sun–Thu 10am–4pm, tel: 020 7284 1994. In Finchley you can explore the history of Jewish immigration and settlement in London. Sternberg Centre, 80 East End Road, Finchley, admission £2 (£2 concessions), Sun–Thu 10.30am–4.30pm, tel: 020 8349 1143. www.historicfarnborough.co.uk is a new site by Jon Cole which aims is to show how Farnborough has changed over the last hundred years or so through a virtual tour of local landmarks and an interactive gallery. There are also sections devoted to family history and reminiscences. There is also a ‘then and now’ section which encourages users to contribute any photographs they may have of the featured location or building. You can also vote for the ten buildings you either love or hate the most in Farnborough. By any standard this is a good site, even though a little 'clunky'. Jon Cole’s style is to engage with his visitors at every opportunity, which should bring him the feedback he needs to make this into a great site. www.londongardenstrust.org is the website of the London Parks and Gardens Trust and to discover it by chance was a real pleasure. It has lots of links to other websites devoted to specific parks and gardens in and around London. Almost all those I looked at included a ‘history’ section. In my spare time I try to keep a park blog about Lenton Recreation Ground, which is in front of our house, and occasionally trawl the web in search of other park bloggers — which is how I found this website (my blog can be found at www.parkviews.blogspot.com). www.brixtonwindmill.org is one of the websites I found through the London Parks and Gardens Trust and offers quite a different take on this part of south London which is often in the news for all the wrong reasons. The site is managed by the Friends of Windmill Gardens, who have their next open days on 15–16 September 2007, but no times have yet been posted to the website. Time and again what comes across is that saving the past for the future is a long, slow, process and the Brixton Windmill is no exception. www.wealdeniron.org.uk may not win any prizes for its use of graphics, but it gets top marks for its simple layout with easy to read text and lots of white space. You can search an online database containing nearly 800 iron-making sites which have so far been located in the Sussex, Kent and Surrey Weald. The site is part of the Wealden Iron Research Group, which describes itself as ‘a loose association of individuals who pursue their own interests and researches’. www.nationsmemorybank.com has the support of The National Archives and exudes bonhomie. It gushes in a way which turns me off. ‘You have spent time collecting precious and valuable memories, memorabilia and research items. You want to keep them safe, but how can you guarantee that? Nations’ Memorybank offers you the security you need via its cutting-edge archive engine, powered by Hanzo Archives’ and so it goes on. For £60 you can join the ‘Members Zone’ and ‘receive enhanced member benefits’, but you can register for free, after which the very first message you see is ‘PIN-protected space and more value added services just a click away!’ At present there are not a lot of many memories on the site. I’m sure they will increase by the day and that the site will be a great hit with many web users. It won’t be long before the celebrity memories start appearing — it’s that kind of site. www.historyandpolicy.org is 'working for better public policy through an understanding of history’. The site is hosted by the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London and publishes on-line essays and reports about topical issues. Local democracy was the issue under discussion at the end of July 2007. The site is aimed at the media and has a list of academic historians available for interview by the media about particular topics or willing to provide written or verbal briefings to policy makers. Perhaps enterprising local historians could provide a similar service to local policy makers and media in their own town or county? Community activists often use a knowledge of local history to try and change council policies and decisions, sometimes with success. It would be even better if local councils drew on that expertise whilst they were actually formulating policies. www.cypriotdiaspora.com has its origins in the activities of the Greek Parents Association. With the help of Heritage Lottery Funding they have made a film, published a book and created this website, all bearing the same title — The Cypriot Diaspora Project — to record the reminiscences of Greek Cypriots who came to live in Britain, especially after the Second World War, and their contribution to our society. It is a remarkable, yet in some ways commonplace, story which can be recounted by many other groups of people who have come here to live and made life so much better for everyone in the process. The website includes all the interviews which appear in the book and the film and their stories are movingly and simply told. Talking at the Community Archives Movement Conference, Peter Yiacoumi, who helped manage the Project, said ‘Ordinary people made the best interviewees. More prominent members of the Greek community gave interviews which reflected their public persona and wanted to see the text and interviews before they were used. Ordinary people did not’. If you visit the site and read some of the interviews you can judge this comment for yourself. An informative and good looking site, although I’m not sure about the orange background on every page. Robert Howard
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9 August 2007 |
