Before I start looking back on this year, I need to explain a couple of things about the blog.
For many, many years using WordPress was free. Then a handful of years ago, I started having problems with stuff and they said I needed to pay an annual fee to keep doing what I had already been doing for years. So I did, because I was mentally invested in this method of recording my memories. But the fee keeps going up and up, so I am no longer prepared to pay over a £100 a year for something which is, after all, just a bit of fun for me.
The upshot of this, is that I can no longer upload any images, and I don’t think people can comment any more, either – if they can, I certainly no longer get any notifications of them.
I refuse to go back to paying a fortune, so videos are the only media I can post – this is because they link to YouTube rather than being actually uploaded onto the blog.
I can cope with this, but thought I’d let you know why things have changed!
Anyway, back to 2023…
The first little backpack was one for Pebbles, a night out in February, at Fieldhead…
Trip number two, was a solo trip of six days, on the Stanza Stones Trail. This runs from Marsden to Ikley, linking together six of Simon Armitage’s poems, all of which have been carved into stones on the moors…
The third trip was one with Geoff. In August, we spent just under three weeks in Jämtland, Sweden, fifteen days of which were spent wandering around the mountains there. A slightly tougher trip than expected due to summer storms and rain leading to floods and high rivers. Great fun though…
And our fourth trip was in October, when all four of us spent a night out in our new Allak 3, trying it out for size…
All thoroughly enjoyable trips!
And of course in-between backpacking trips, other stuff was going on…
Swapping our little motorhome (after 12 years of motorhoming) for a small caravan…
Eight months later deciding we didn’t like caravanning, so swapped back to a small motorhome…🤦♀️
Geoff being blessed enough to turn 70 and celebrating with good friends and family…
Loads of walking and running…
And lots of other wonderful ups and occasional downs, to make up the rest of the year…
We feel very grateful ❤️
Dixie 
Chrissie,
I’m puzzled by your WordPress issue. I’ve been using it for about 10 years for free. I can upload pics. Like you, I need to link to YouTube for vids. Possibly you are paying for an ad-free site which is something that I do not do. https://fenlandramblersgroup.wordpress.com/2023/12/18/wolferton-sandringham/
Brian
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Hi Brian, thanks for that. I too, am also puzzled! At one point I was paying for no adverts, but only because without that payment, it had stopped uploading my photos…and now I’ve stopped paying, I can no longer upload pics!
I’m also pleasantly surprised to see your comment – so that’s good!
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I’ve been WordPress blogging since 2011 and, fingers crossed, don’t pay yet – but I think it’s because I shrink all photos to document size (or scan them small for my film scans) so the files are around 300 KB each as opposed to anything upwards of 2 MB straight from a digi-camera (my new digi-camera files are up to 7 MB !! 😮 It doesn’t matter about having compressed the files down to document size as screen resolution on computers is very poor anyway! That way, you can put 100s more photos on your blog before you run out of room. I haven’t checked how much space I’ve got left recently though so you never know – I might be due to pay soon! £100 a year is ridiculous for hobby blogs.
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Think you’re probably right there. Someone else told me that some years back and I do remember resizing some pics, but then got really teed off with it after a long holiday, when I came back with 100s…then I think even then I managed to go over some limit…🤔
I haven’t got the patience sometimes, I just want it to be easy!
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Hi Chrissie, Geoff, and of course, not forgetting Pebbles & Islay.
I do still get notifications of WordPress posts and comments, and I don’t pay for the service.
I do have issues with YouTube, but that’s me, refusing to pay and refusing to allow access to my personal data so they can blast me with personalised ads.
Its not the ads I have a problem with, its the personalised bit I detest.
It’s good to see you guys still getting out and about, and if I don’t catch up with you before, wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a fabulous New Year.
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Hi Mike, nice to hear from you, hope you’re doing ok!
I know what you mean about the personalised stuff, it’s all bonkers…
Thanks for your kind wishes, have a good Christmas x
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You’re welcome and apologies for the delayed reply, I’m still plodding along, after having Xmas & NY full board courtesy of the NHS, after collapsing Xmas Day, and can’t recall a thing.
I did check the whiskey bottle when I got back home last Friday, the top is still sealed!
All the main nasties have been ruled out, meningitis, stroke, TIA etc.
So far 2024 hasn’t been a good year, so there’s only one way it can go, better.
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Gosh, Mike! I’m so sorry to hear that, what a worry for you. I sincerely hope you are now feeling much better and that 2024 quickly improves for you!
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Only just got around to reading this Chrissie as been laid up for a month! Thankfully starting to feel I can cope with life Again 🙂 I don’t pay for my site, though regularly get asked to do so I just ignore. I’m still using free of charge and upload pictures as part of my posts.|I suppose if you can face it maybe download all your stuff, close account and open a new one might be a solution. Hope you have more great outings in 2024.
Sarah
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Hi Sarah, gosh, that doesn’t sound like fun, I hope you’re feeling much better now xxx
It appears that if I resize all my photos I should be able to post them free – but I’m not even sure I can be bothered, to be honest 😅
I still like to keep my blog for my own personal memories really, but things have moved on since I first started it many years ago, and it no longer produces the chatty interactions that it once did, so I suppose I’ve lost a bit of impetus to be honest…
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Like you I’ve been using WordPress for years and never pay. I started seeing adverts a couple of years back but that doesn’t bother me. I think I had up to 3Gb of storage and after using up a few Gig with uploading photos directly I worked out I can embed photos from my Flickr account that doesn’t use up any of the storage (other than the code). I pay around £50 a year for Flickr (unlimited storage) which also gives me an online backup of all my photos. Maybe this could work for you?
Happy 2024 and all the best
Andy
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Hi Andy, yes I think I might need to look into something like that, someone else said something similar! 😀
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