Access Database Word-files and Census

Short-cuts when typing census information or lists carrying repetitious information, can save time. Similarly plenty of -useless? - data can be extracted from Access files

Local villages, some with tongue-twisting names that can cause mistyping, and other input can be short-cutted.

[Cgr] Congresbury for example can be used to transform itself into a laboriously long name, using the AutoCorrect options in tools,

[w-i-g] Walton-in-Gordano [ws-i-g] Weston-in-Gordano etc.

[z] can become M [x] S  to speed up key strokes and finger movement when designating if the individual is either married or single.

[stm] changes into Som. [clv] to Clevedon using combinations of letters that do not occur in the normal sequence. All without the brackets placed here to stop alterations in place names etc.

In the same way when using Access by blacking a name or occupation with the mouse, then right-clicking it shows a series of choices. Opting for filter by selection then lists all of the folk working as farm Labourers there in 1871. A total of 30; in using this system it is easy to identify also how many were born locally by moving the mouse to Location,blacking the column with the mouse then right clicking and select Sort ascending.

We then find the listing has been sorted into alphabetic order of places; and that Kenn village is outnumbered by over double the numbers from elsewhere.

Useless information and waste of time? Quite possibly so; but it can still bring up statistics of interest to local historians.

A comparison search for example of both Clapton-in-Gordano and Tickenham villages for the same period shows that whilst there were miners living in Tickenham who worked in the Nailsea coalfields Clapton-in-Gordano had not only miners but engine drivers and firemen plus stokers showing that at that time the coal-field there was still producing in quantity. It will be interesting to see what Nailsea village shows when that census is in turn transcribed. 

The Old Portbury Chapel

For many years this old Brunel broad gauge coach served as a chapel in Portbury. When the construction of the M5 began it was removed “for safety” — but where is it now? It was supposedly taken away for renovation, I think though that if it was successfully restored it deserves a place back in the Somerset village that first saved it from demolition and converted it into a chapel. 

The interior had some of the original railway carriage seats as can be seen in the rear.

Looking rather devrepit and beginning to sag a little.

The coach roof started leaking so a corrugated iron one was put over the top of it.

Interesting to see that although the frame of the carriage was square the over-set metal-work was given a rounded effect just like a horse carriage would have had.

This door was presumably used as an entrance to the chapel. 

On the left had side of the chapel was an acknowledgement thanking Mr Shopland of Clevedon and his horse Smart for moving it to the site from Portbury railway station a few yards down the road to Portishead 

Looking Back

I recently came upon a series of negatives that I had taken back in the days of “steam cameras” using Ilford XP1 film. I had recorded some houses in East Clevedon for the records but never printed them. The stone built houses were erected by/for Watts in the 1820’s in that part of Clevedon called Stonebridge. The name was given because the roadway used to get flooded in the winter and was given a hardcore surface in an effort to stop the mud bogging down farm wagons and carts. Otherwise they would have to go up through the narrow Carey’s Lane as it was called in those days, before the building of All saints Church.

The main cause of the flooding was a spring that rose in the valley and ran down through the fields where the present petrol station now stands.

That area and modern road still used to flood after heavy rainstorms as late as the 1960’s

Eventually the Way-wards got the road straightened out to its present situation.

However who would think that this little dirt surfaced track was once the main road leaving Clevedon for Tickenham and Nailsea. 

 Just checked on www.morguefile.com where I post under the pseudonym jusben. I have now gone to over 3,500 downloads of my top image. Yet I still don't like it as a picture, can't understand why it has so many users.

I know that Morguefile allows royalty free use but what on earth do they use this for?

I checked on total dowloads too and found just over 400,000 total for all my images.

This one of the Oliver Cromwell preserved steam loco taken just two years ago, leads the steam train downloads with over 1,500 users,

while this one taken back in 2010 has over 500. I think it is probably the best rugby pic I have taken. By the time I had to finish watching and taking pix I had more rugby shots on Morguefile than any other contributor. This was a hectic game and the mud, by the time the game ended, seemed to be more on the players than on the ground. 

I wonder how long it will take me to reach the half million total download mark?

At Last 

I managed to get shots of a flower on Good King Henry, Chenopodium bonus-henricus,

 The buds are hard enough at only about 4 to 5 mm in size.

The flower itself is so delicate that the petals hardly show against the bright green background.

The yellow dots of the stamens are about 2 mm. in size and the cluster makes it harder to focus on the flower.

This time I used the 90mm Tamron macro lens stopped down to f22 on the front of a 1.7 tele extender and four Kenko extension tubes with a 10 dioptre lens in the front 

with the ring flash mounted on the assembly on full power. Took this shot at full distant focus; tried another at closest but could not get the complete flower in at 5 times life-size. 

It does however show the almost transparent petals better than the 4x JPG.

Oddly Culpeper has no mention in his herbals of this plant; Presumably because it was not used as a treatment for disease or illness but consumed as part of peoples' diet.