Forum Features & Updates

I have just been having a dip into Rob's new 'Street Gallery', he has been really busy since I was last on and has been adding loads of photographs and postcard views from his personal collection. It's fun just to browse on there but it's also evolving into a great reference site for us all. What I really like is the fact that you can click on an old street view and then simply click the Google map that's linked and you have a 'Now and Then' comparison without having to bother to do it yourself. Thanks Rob

Brilliant idea!

Hi all I am once again in awe, as I start to swallow the depth of this new concept of our forum. As a part of the team in support of Rob, it would be expected of me to give support to him, in any progress & development of the site that takes place, but my support here is not 'cooked-up' in anyway on this. It is not just one aspect either. The fact that at the touch of a button, we have an instant comparison to then & now illustrations. We live in a world of pictures & illustrations, which are as much a part of history as any language. Historians can much more easily define an ancient drawing than trying to work out an ancient language. How many burger sandwiches would McDonalds sell, if they were just listed as titles on a menu list, say like at a high society restaurant? It's the illuminated pictures that hang above the serving area that sells the burgers. That is not meant as a slur to McDonalds either, as I enjoyed my Deli' wrap last week. Rob, with his technical skill & vision has created an internet interactive record of Coventry, which we as members bring alive with our record of events. It is an alive & living site. Not just a book on a bookshelf. We know that now, our site is used by people involved with study. That will grow & grow. It will become a standard source of reference, continuing long after I am gone. I feel honoured to be a member. Thank you Rob, so much, for so much.

The Coronation Road picture is a lovely shot of Giles' paper shop, which was on the corner of Berry Street and Brook Street not Coronation Road at all. It was our local paper shop and we always called it "Gileses".

Thank you all so much for your kind words - and thank you also Primrose, for your help regarding the shop in Berry Street. When I looked on Google Maps to try and find the location of the photo, the scene at the corner of Berry Street / Coronation Road looked so close I became convinced that it must have been that location. Even the shape of the shop and the house in the next street looked like a good match! It just goes to show how important the members of this forum have become in making sure that our local history is presented correctly! Thank you once again. And if I might just deflect some of the praise in Foxcote's direction, as it was she who had the initial idea of presenting an easy-to-use visual directory of our city's streets.

I appreciate the 'Mention in Despatches' for the initial idea of the directory! It was easy for me because I then sat back and relied on Rob's technical skills and experience in such matters to create it. I am glad his efforts have been appreciated and with other members generously contributing their own images, it should be a great reference tool for all of us.

Hi all, Hi Foxcote, Can you ever imagine life without our forum? Without me perhaps, but not the forum. I am so pleased that our lady members in general feel comfortable using our site. I am very grateful for your vibrance & skill that you bring. I love it.

This is an excellent idea from Philip, thank you! I've now added an Event diary, permanently linked from the side-menu and toolbar, in which we can all add any local events that you think deserve attention. Have fun! Rob

I'm glad the men feel comfortable, in general, using our site as well!

Choice of image sizes

I've just added a long overdue feature that might help to keep some pages to an easier viewing size. Anyone who now uploads an image will no longer be stuck with one size, but can now select Small (300 pixels), Medium (500 pixels) or Large (700 pixels). Previously, all images were resized to the maximum of 700 pixels, but sometimes a little photo can look a bit daft if it's too big, so now you get a choice. Please let me know if there are any teething troubles, but hopefully it will be fairly straight forward. Cheers to all, Rob

Hi & thank you Rob. How do we delete unused or not wanted pictures, please?

Hi Philip, If any member clicks on "Yourprofile" (you'll see it when you hover over your username in the toolbar), you can scroll down the page a bit until you see a huge brown square with thumbnails of all your images inside. It might take a while to load if you have a lot of them. Any unused images will be highlighted in yellow. Below that square section is a button marked "Delete all unused images". If you press that, then afterwards press "Confirm delete", all unused images will be deleted. I hope this helps.

Hi & thank you Rob Just one word. Brill!

Thank you Philip, you're always so kind. Just one more little feature update - I've now added a little " x " button beneath each image in Your profile, so if anyone isn't brave enough to press the "delete all" button, you can pick them off one-by-one!