I was forever playing around with my blog, not 100% happy with it, but also not hating it enough for change. However, when I removed my header image, my theme (Canard) was able to showcase ‘featured content’ in its stead!
I had to go into the customiser and select a chosen tag in ‘Featured Content’, then the latest five posts that have had that tag applied to them would appear as my featured content – in the place where my header image used to sit. For July I chose to feature ‘blue plaques’.
I have written six posts dedicated to blue plaques since deciding on my featured content theme for July. I found that blue plaques were an easy prompt for writing a blog. Below are the posts that I wrote to coincide with my theme.
Alan Turing: WWII Code-breaker
Titanic Captain Edward John Smith Lived Here
Cesar Picton: an African in Georgian Britain
I had also written two previous posts on the blue plaque theme when I happened to come across them on days out.
Millicent Garret Fawcett Lived Here
Mayflower Passenger Pilgrim Father William Mullins Lived Here
Using featured content has not made me focus on just that – take a look at July’s archives. I’ve had quite a month: two Princess Diana posts, two family history posts, two Oscar Wilde posts and a couple of others besides those with the tag of blue plaque!
I used the Blue Plaques of London App when I was in central London this month. The screen did freeze and it took a couple of hours for my location to update, which was frustrating. Eventually, I realised that searching for anybody on the App would refresh my location, but by then I was tired and limping (I’d strained my Achilles heel a couple of weeks before) and my energy had flagged and so after a LOT of walking I gave up after locating William Marsden’s blue plaque at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Focussing on blue plaques for the month of July does not preclude other blue plaque articles on HistorianRuby. I still haven’t written my post on David Garrick and I photographed his plaque in November last year.
Yesterday I drove around Wimbledon and photographed a couple of blue plaques dedicated to people of note, Georgette Heyer and Josephine Butler. So there’s more to come.
I was thwarted at Josephine Butler’s former property, two cars, scaffolding and a workman on the scaffolding meant any photograph I took would be compromised.
Images author’s own.
HistorianRuby: An Historian's Miscellany 
I love your blue plaque series, it’s such a great way to come up with new post ideas! 🙂
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Thanks! I previously used a photograph of one to illustrate a post, really, it was the post about William Mullins that sparked my renewed interest in them. 🙂
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I’m loving that there is a blue plaque app. It’s a pity it gave you so much trouble while out though.
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Yes. I’d never had a problem with it when using it at home, but it basically meant that I didn’t know which direction to walk. So I just walked! Once I’d manage to refresh the location it was much better. I don’t know if that was a fault with central London though, as my sat nav hates central London and its tall buildings, too.
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You’d think with all the business going on, connectivity would be even better in the centre. At least you still were able to get in a few. 🙂
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Yes, once I knew the trick! 🙂
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