The year draws to a close and as usual, I have a little summary message to end December on. Once again, I want to give sincere THANKS to everybody here for their continued interest, support and engaging so actively on the page, by messenger and email. Here’s wishing all Blantyre Project readers all over the world best health, good fortune, peace and happiness in 2024.
For Blantyre Project, there were some 2023 highlights….
- New articles appeared faithfully throughout the year, almost every single day, (only missing a short time when my hospital visit ended up being longer than expected!)
- There are now over 16,800 photos on the main Blantyre Project website!
- Book sales continue to be steady with proceeds going to local good causes.
- Social reach expanded further joining Instagram and reaching new audiences.
- I invested into AI technology, meaning some beautiful images are being exclusively created to help illustrate articles in eras before photography, helping readers to visualise events, news and stories. However, the use of this tech is deliberately limited, to ensure most photos remain real and true to Blantyre places, people and events.
- I was thrilled to deeply research so much detail about the Blantyre Pit Disaster of 1877, taking further steps towards the personal stories of the miners being told and unveiling a new display cabinet at High Blantyre Cemetery to tell the story of the disaster.
but a couple of things didn’t quite go to plan:
- I was unable to take several open book drafts to publication, still having to finish them. I won’t rush this aiming to make each book as best as it can possibly be.
- Stepping back from community meetings and events as I recovered from health issues, I didn’t get to make as many history presentations to organisations and schools as I would normally. Apologies, I hope I haven’t let too many people down in that regard and that they understand.
So what about 2024?
Blantyre Project is 13 years old in 2024 and this year instead of promising a whole load of things here, I’m going to take 2024 one day at a time, a first for me with no commitments, no pressure, so stress. I’m embarking on a couple of personal projects offline in my spare time this coming year, but I’ll still be writing and scheduling new articles here on a daily basis and I assure you, there’s plenty more new photos and articles to come! I’m nowhere near done and have an abundance of material still to research and post about!
That said, I’m confident with several book drafts almost complete, 2024 will see several new publications being released adding to the Blantyre Project library of 12 other books! Here’s what I’ve been working on in the background these last couple of years, all for planned release in 2024:
- The Mariasnki Chronicles – Small book on the story of a Victorian era local character.
- Greenhall – The detailed history of Greenhall Estate, High Blantyre.
- The Trials of Little Bird – a tale of Irish immigration, my own first novel set in the 1870’s.
Don’t forget, I do this in spare time only, an evening and weekend hobby behind a challenging, full time construction job which I enjoy very much. Meantime, I hope you continue to enjoy Blantyre Project and my daily scheduled articles and photos. I’ve SO much more to share. Thank you sincerely for all your appreciated support and engaging comments and for keeping me so highly motivated.
For now though, it’s time to celebrate, my glass is half full and family beckon me to closedown this laptop. Wherever you are in the world, Happy New Year! Paul V
