I hope that you had a happy Christmas.
It's been slim pickings on this blog over the last twelve months with only nine posts. There have been particular reasons for that including time pressure on other projects. Some of those reasons I will explore here later. Hopefully I will do better this year
I accept that this has been a sadly neglected blog. I have been collecting material, but my main writing focus has been elsewhere. This includes, among other things, two chapters in the book to be published to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the creation of the New England University College.
I am now focusing on this blog. As part of this, I am going to start bringing up material that I have been collecting, but at the right date. That is, the date at which it should have been published. This may make for a somewhat crazy publishing pattern, but the blog is partly a blog of record. I need the record for later use.
The blog is also coming up on 100,000 visitors. Who would have thought it? That will be a celebration!!
So browse back from time to time over the next week, and see what I should have published! The majority of the posts will be short but, I hope, varied. They will come up in no particular order, driven simply by my notes!
The story I referred to in Neucleus and the New England story has become a bigger investigation than expected. I have been digging around tonight just trying to check people and facts. Posting resumes tomorrow.
I am having another round of computer problems. Posting will be limited until I sort this one out.
Back on January 16 I said that I was resuming regular posting here. I haven't quite been able to manage this.
I mention this now because I am going to bring up some back posts to fill the gap between today and my short post last Wednesday. Don't want to confuse my regular readers!
Postscript
In the total confusion that marks my present life, I fear that the present back posts did not arrive!
I am sorry for the slow posting here. It's partly a matter of personal disorganisation, partly due to the reasons I explained in a post on my personal blog, Enjoying the Rugby World Cup. I do love my Rugby!
I am flying to New Zealand Thursday for a couple of days. Despite that, I expect to resume posting tomorrow. I have a number of part completed stories: I just have to complete some for future posting!
I need to take a little time for research on two primary topics.
The first is the geology of New England. I need to complete some research and writing here to fill a gap in my history of New England. However, I also want to use the research to provide background for some further pieces on New England's environmental wars.
I don't know about you, but I find that while I have a good general understanding of the geography and geology of New England, I also get frustrated at the way that some of the discussion ignores or at least occurs in isolation of the geography. Why, for example, is Liverpool Plains groundwater important?
Peter Firminger (@PeterFirminger) has been doing a very good job on Twitter in just recording some of the media reporting on issues connected with the environmental wars with a special focus on coal seam gas. I think that reporting would be enhanced if I provided factual material and background analysis.
The second thing I need to do further research on is higher education in New England. This will allow me to continue the series I began with The story of higher education in New England 1 - introduction. It will also fill in another gap in my history.
I am now coming under pressure to move my history forward. For personal reasons, I must get the book to the point that I can seriously seek a publisher. I know who I want to publish the book, but I can't approach them until I have more to show.
I do not expect the break in posting to be a long one. During the break, I will continue to bring my Armidale Express columns on-line, and will respond to comments. I will also be making some posts to my New England history blog that I will reference here.
Postscript
I did a brief summary of my current historical research, Report on Belshaw historical research and writing, that I think will provide a bit more background to this post.
Visitor 60,000 has arrived on this site. He/she searched on Armidale and ended up on this post from June 29, 2009, Gordon Smith's St Peter's Cathedral Armidale.
Looking at the post, my blogging colleague Gordon Smith was just back from an outback tour. As I write, Gordon is running photos from his most recent outback tour. They are very good: you will find them here.
Nice coincidence, don't you think?
Visitor 50,000 arrived on this site last night, arriving via a google search on Moree flood evacuation centre. Welcome.
50,000. That's quite a lot!
I have really been bogged down in a New England story post I have been writing on the death of Gordon Trickett. Tomorrow?
I have been slow in posting, although I have a number of posts to go up. Just pressure.
In a comment on on Leaving on a jet plane, Andrew wrote:
Hi Jim,
Congratulations on a fantastic blog.
I'm a fourth generation New Englander; my direct family line having settled in the region in the 1850's particularly around the Tamworth and Armidale areas.
Much of my family and extended family are still in the region and although sadly I no longer call New England home I am however a frequent visitor to the area.
Keep up the good work, you've earned a regular reader here.
Regards,
Andrew
I write about our diaspora a lot. Just at present, I live in Sydney for family reasons. This drives me in part in trying to keep people in touch with their country. Andrew's comment therefore gave me great pleasure.
Not everybody from the diaspora thinks of themselves as a New Englander. I use the term because, to my mind, it best captures the area I am talking about. Others think of themselves as from the North, the Hunter or the Northern Rivers. I don't mind.
People's views vary. Andrew is a republican, I am a monarchist. Some support the continuation of NSW control, while I want self-government for New England. However, there is no censorship on this blog beyond things such as libel laws. I try to report fairly and never censor comments unless there is a very specific legal reason for so doing.
When the blog began, it had little traction. Slowly, this has changed. Now, I think, it is time to broaden.
If you live in New England, the Tablelands and all the surrounding river valleys, then this is your blog. It is even more your blog if you are a fellow member of the diaspora.
I can only write what I can write. I need your help.
You can contribute through comments or story ideas. More, you can become an actual contributor. You can do this by sending me stuff that can be published. But, if you have a regular stream of ideas, then you can become a member of the blog team. I can add you to the list so that you can write and publish direct.
You don't need to write a post every day or even every week, just when you have something to say. What you say will not be edited, nor are there any limitations as to topic or approach. If I disagree, I will do so in comments on the post to further discussion.
So, what about it? Is it time to broaden?
I have been off line since last Friday because of other pressures. Normal publishing resumes tomorrow.
In the meantime, have a browse of 1923: Classical Greek in the New England countryside.
I did not post yesterday nor will I be posting today. I need time to catch up on other things, especially emails where I am miles behind.
Delayed in posting because I have been researching and writing a longish post revisiting New England's water wars. It's one of those issues that's been niggling at me for a little while.
I do hope to complete the post today, but it may be tomorrow.
In my last post on September traffic, I noted that after the big traffic increase in August, September numbers were down, in part I thought because I was away and could not post.
The decline continued in October. Hopefully, November will be better.
The ten most popular posts over September were:
Excluding search engine traffic, the most referrals came from:
