On the first of each month, or as near as, work and family commitments permitting, I will feature several of my posts thematically. I will also write a new themed post to coincide with the current chosen topic.
For this I will be utilising the ‘featured content’ option on my WordPress theme – I use Canard. I’ve tried to find a new theme, (I get bored easily) but I can’t find a theme that matches what I have now, this one does everything that I need for the moment. I stopped looking once I removed the header image and customised the ‘featured content’.
That switch gave me the freedom to highlight posts that I feel deserve a little more love from the readers or may correspond with events that are happening, such as the recent royal wedding, where I was able to showcase several royal wedding related posts. The featured content option can be accessed in the ‘customiser’ and you have to choose a tag that you have used on similarly themed posts.
I’ve enjoyed changing up to five featured posts recently, but have done it randomly, when the mood strikes. So for this series, I will choose the topic and group several articles to be showcased on the Home Page of my blog.
This month’s theme will be blue plaques!
I’ve already written a couple of posts dedicated to Britain’s blue plaques, and I’ve more to come. Blue plaques are great for spotting when out with children and can keep them amused during car journeys. And as my post about suffragist Millicent Garrett Fawcett shows, great for keeping adults amused, too!
Blue plaques commemorate people or events in history at places where they lived, worked or visited. England’s first blue plaque scheme began in 1867 when poet Lord Byron was honoured. English Heritage runs what was the original scheme, which was begun by the Society of Arts, although there are other similar organisations around the country. Recipients of a plaque cannot be commemorated until twenty years after their death. This gives ample time to assess the impact that person had on society or for their legacy to be judged accordingly.
If you live in or are visiting London, you may like to download the English Heritage Blue Plaques of London App.
You may like to read my earlier blue plaque posts; Millicent Garrett Fawcett Lived Here and Mayflower Passenger Pilgrim Father William Mullins Lived Here.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36322761
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/
HistorianRuby: An Historian's Miscellany 
I love that app idea for touring around, it’s so handy when technology works in our favor!! And I know just how you feel about finding a theme that has all the features you want, it’s very challenging as each one seems to have all but one essential component lol
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I love the blue plaques! They’re so interesting, as a kid I was in awe of them and I had to look up every one I saw.. and growing up
In Belgravia there were ALOT!!
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Now I understand why there are all these plaque related posts on top of your page. I think it’s a good idea.
I haven’t really experimented with new themes recently, because I THOROUGHLY did so in the past. Next time will be when I upgrade (forgot to use the resent promo code before it expired…).
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I’ve not done it in a structured format previously – I thought it may spur me on to write a post or two (and it has!). I’ve been ‘sitting’ on the Alan Turing post for over a month! I’ve set a reminder on my phone for the next few months in case I forget to change the featured tag.
I like the change in images and featured posts as I do get bored with the same image. I’ve not searched for a new theme since I bought my domain name. I like others that I see but each time I look I’m uninspired. I probably just don’t want the hassle of to much change.
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I love it, you walk around different towns and then all of a sudden you notice a blue plaque and realise someone who is in the history books lived there, nice one
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Thanks 🙂
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