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Project Developments Dec 2005-Feb 2006
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Project Developments Dec 2005-Feb 2006
Location: Isle of Wight
Ryde Social Heritage Group Dec 05-Feb 06
Did any of us realise we could ever be so busy when we first started out with this project? I doubt it!
Things are going from strength to strength and the project is really taking on momentum of its own.
• Our membership has continued to grow, currently we have 40 members.
• We continue to have weekly committee meetings and monthly meetings with the membership, all meetings are well attended and productive.
This is what has been happening over the past three months.
DECEMBER
• We had a display of some of our research in the offices of Ryde Development Trust for the whole of December and we received some good feedback as a result.
• We had regular meetings with the web designers,
Matrix e-business, to discuss the layout and requirements of the new web site.
• David Earle continued working in the cemetery checking the position of graves to produce accurate digital maps of the cemetery.
• Students from Ryde School have started to help record some of the inscriptions in the cemetery as part of their community work for the Duke of Edinburgh award. There are seven students and they spend an hour a week on the project. Fortunately they do not seem to be deterred by the inclement weather at this time of year!
• We have been invited to participate in Ryde History Week in May 2006 and will be putting on a small exhibition of our research and conducting two guided walks in the cemetery.
JANUARY
• We purchased an A3 printer, laptop computer and digital camera for the use of members working on the project, we also set up a Business Account at a local stationery supplier.
• David Earle completed mapping the Old Parish Cemetery and started to work on the next section, which is known as the Old Cemetery. Like the students from Ryde School, David seems undeterred by freezing weather.
• The date and venue for the Project and Website Launch meeting were set as 21st March at the George Street Centre, Ryde. Roy Brinton, local historian has kindly agreed to be our guest speaker on the night.
• By the end of January a version of the new website was available for members to start trying out inputting data and find out all the problems or ‘bugs’ so the web designers can fix them before the site goes ‘live’ in March.
• We ran a training session on 28th January to show members how to use the website. See photograph attached.
• We had an article published in the Ryde Beacon about one of the interesting stories we have discovered. Alexander Findlay Smith was buried in Ryde Cemetery in January 1926, prior to that he was the person responsible for building the Peak Tramway in Hong Kong which opened in 1888.
• We published the 2nd edition of our newsletter “Beyond the Graves”.
FEBRUARY
• All the records from the old web site (about 400 in total) were copied on to the new site and new ones added. Thanks to Kathie-Ann Gibbs, Micki Gilham, David Earle, Sally-Ann Garrett Janette Kitching, Matthew Bell and Matt Stacey for hours of inputting and problem solving on the website.
• There were a number of ‘bugs’ found in the initial stages of using the new site but our web designers, Matrix e-business, are fixing these and making any improvements we request.
• We purchased display boards, which we will use when we set up exhibitions about the project. We also purchased an A3 laminator so that we can prepare display material.
• Preparations are well underway for the Launch of the Project and the new website in March.
• Roy Brinton, local historian, has kindly agreed to become our Honorary President.
• We have sent out invitations to all the local schools, County councilors, churches, local history groups and everyone we think will be interested in our project. The event will also be advertised in the Ryde Beacon, in the local media and by posters around the town.
• When he is not working on inputting records to the new web site, David Earle can often be found wandering around the cemetery with his map boards and note pad, checking what is on the ground to transfer to his new maps.
• On 25th February we held a workshop to prepare displays for the Launch exhibition, and to decide who will be taking on which roles on the night.
• Work continues to prepare exhibition material and the website for the Big Night.
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