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<channel>
	<title>Alan Davidson</title>
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	<link>http://alandavidson.me</link>
	<description>Alan Davidson who lives in Whitby North Yorkshire</description>
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		<title>Some Times it’s good to Slag other companies OFF!</title>
		<link>http://alandavidson.me/2012/05/some-times-it%e2%80%99s-good-to-slag-other-companies-off/</link>
		<comments>http://alandavidson.me/2012/05/some-times-it%e2%80%99s-good-to-slag-other-companies-off/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 May 2012 18:50:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO and CCTV]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alandavidson.me/?p=2522</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sometimes a company will basically slag another company off just for the sake of making themselves look good, but I couldn&#8217;t believe it a couple weeks but when a lady called Maggie contacted me because she has what turns out to be the most splendid spacious cottage on the North York Moors, and she is [...]


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<li><a href='http://alandavidson.me/2011/07/dont-get-caught-out-by-crooked-security-alarm-companies-tips-on-what-to-watch-out-for/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Don&#8217;t get caught out by Security Alarm Companies, tips on what to watch out for'>Don&#8217;t get caught out by Security Alarm Companies, tips on what to watch out for</a> <small>It is very annoying when you know how some security installation...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://alandavidson.me/2011/12/bradford-builder-whitby-cottages/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Builder likes Whitby Cottages analytics and learns SEO'>Builder likes Whitby Cottages analytics and learns SEO</a> <small>The Bradford builder called David Hawkes as built some fantastic...</small></li>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sometimes a company will basically slag another company off just for the sake of making themselves look good, but I couldn&#8217;t believe it a couple weeks but when a lady<img class="alignright" style="margin: 8px;" title="North York Moors Cottages" src="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/North-Yorkshire-Moors-Cottages.JPG" alt="Moore Cottage sleeps five with Panoramic Views" width="465" height="193" /> called Maggie contacted me because she has what turns out to be the most splendid spacious cottage on the North York Moors, and she is virtually no bookings at all.</p>
<p>She&#8217;d actually paid a member of her family to work on the search engine <span id="GRmark_33a1f648caaee5074396ef7e9f157bfa1e3f03ee_optimisation:0" class="GRcorrect">optimisation</span> of the website and when the results didn&#8217;t seem to be working regarding bookings, she decided she would imply a company in Leeds instead. I don&#8217;t know how much she paid the company to work on her SEO, but I&#8217;ve no doubt it was quite a few hundred pounds if not thousands because they&#8217;d been working on it for months apparently but in reality neither this company or the original family member virtually did nothing for their payment.</p>
<p>The on page <span id="GRmark_f4f27231db61b4f459205ab77436e6c34930f1d6_optimisation:0" class="GRcorrect">optimisation</span> of the website was extremely poor and the only good aspect I could see was that somebody, maybe the initial family member, the Leeds SEO, or it could have been the original Webmaster had taken the time to write two pages is all about Whitby and its attractions.<br />
When I looked at her Google analytics account she would get the occasional hit, but the traffic was virtually nil.</p>
<p>Anyway without blow my own trumpet too extensively, but if I don&#8217;t who else will <img src='http://alandavidson.me/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' />  I took over the search engine <span id="GRmark_018db59774033945fee17ca112e75187ff97d2e1_optimisation:0" class="GRcorrect">optimisation</span> two weeks ago and Mark my partner redesigned a brand-new website with proper on page <span id="GRmark_018db59774033945fee17ca112e75187ff97d2e1_optimisation:1" class="GRcorrect">optimisation</span>. She is now getting through various sources 20 to 35 hits a day and we&#8217;ve had four bookings in the first week and a half. So fingers crossed will keep going in that direction but needless to say she is over the moon at <span id="GRmark_cb818bcf8cba17407632b16653a5b644545b8c94_last:0" class="GRcorrect">last</span> somebody is doing the actual work properly.</p>
<p>She did pay me a nominal fee for my initial work but the main benefit for me is that I&#8217;m acting as her holiday letting agent, so I get a percentage of each booking. But at the end of the day everybody is winning, Maggie is getting the bookings, I&#8217;m getting my percentage and the <span id="GRmark_39196e670b93d4e6960a0734198d30cf8026e593_holidaymakers:0" class="GRcorrect">holidaymakers</span> are finding what turned out to be when I visited one of the most fabulous, spacious <a href="http://www.northyorkmoorscottages.co.uk/" target="_blank">North York Moors Cottages</a> with a spectacular panorama view.<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PcTSGZlWXao" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>


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		<title>Many UPVC and Composite Doors come with Weak Locks</title>
		<link>http://alandavidson.me/2012/03/many-upvc-and-composite-doors-come-with-weak-locks/</link>
		<comments>http://alandavidson.me/2012/03/many-upvc-and-composite-doors-come-with-weak-locks/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:44:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weekly observations]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alandavidson.me/?p=2502</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The hard facts are that if you don&#8217;t have good quality locks on your UPVC or composite door, you are easy pickings for burglars.
The good news is it is not expensive toreplace door locks with safe ones that will keep intruders out.
This really is not rocket science but the amazing stupidity is that the majority [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The hard facts are that if you don&#8217;t have good quality locks on your UPVC or composite door, you are easy pickings for burglars.</p>
<p>The good news is it is not expensive to<img class="alignright" src="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/Locksmiths-AD-Alarms.jpg" alt="AD Alarms Locksmiths for Bradford and Leeds" width="306" height="357" />replace door locks with safe ones that will keep intruders out.</p>
<p>This really is not rocket science but the amazing stupidity is that the majority of manufacturers of these types of doors particularly in the past supply them with locks which were defective.<br />
The inferior Euro cylinder door locks on UPVC and composite doors have a weakness; they can be broken easily and quickly. The barrel lock that goes through the door has a narrow thin part right in the centre, which means that if the lock itself protrudes beyond the door handle it can be broken literally in seconds by grabbing it with mole grips and twisting. Even if the lock has been fitted flush with the door handle, if it is not a safety door handle the intruder can break the handle away to expose the lock.</p>
<p>If I asked what is the most illogical and stupid invention that’s been made and someone suggested the lock that has been fitted to UPVC doors throughout the country that is literally the weakest part in the doors defence against burglars, I think you&#8217;d agree that should win the prize for the stupidest unpractical and dangerous invention.</p>
<p>My company AD Alarms knew about these locks four years ago when we were working with a company set up by the local police called SPEED, which stood for securing Property Efficiently Effectively Daily.</p>
<p>SPEED knew that these UPVC door locks fitted by a lot of the door manufacturers were vulnerable and at the time they were trying to decide if they should try and keep this quiet and changes as many door locks as possible before it became common knowledge, or alternatively to put the message out through leaflet and television campaigns, giving people the information so they could change their door locks as soon as possible. The negative side to sending the information out to the public was that by doing so it would also inform the burglars, so it&#8217;s quite a difficult decision what the best strategy was. It was decided to keep it quiet but a few years down the line this is no longer the case, with television and the Internet it has become common knowledge now and that is why forced entry by burglars by snapping or bumping door locks is on a sharp increase throughout the country.</p>
<p>A television programme broadcast at the being of March 2012 on the BBC from Leeds in West Yorkshire highlighted the fact that in that area of the country they have the steepest increase in burglaries by breaking door locks.</p>
<p>The answer to the problem is to replace the Euro cylinder locks, with anti-snap, anti-bump and anti drill locks fitted finished flush with the door handles. Also its good to also fit security door handles which cannot be removed easily, but even if the potential intruder eventually manages to get the safety handle off and grab the lock with grips, he would only be able to snap the front section of the lock off because it is designed to leave the main cylinder still in the door and usable by the owner&#8217;s key.</p>
<p>In houses it really is as simple as that to make the door safe against burglars.</p>
<p>It is worthwhile also noting that the vast majority of forced entries are at the rear of houses, where it is quieter and not overlooked by the main street usually. If the front door is the main door to gaining access by the owner of the property, it is a good idea to strengthen the rear doors, particularly if it is a patio door with Sash Jammers placed at the top and bottom third section to make the door or patio door extremely strong.</p>
<p>There are two other things which also make the property much less likely to be burgled and these are is a security alarm system and CCTV.</p>
<p>My honest advice would be that if you have the funds I would have both CCTV and a security alarm installed, but if the purse strings are tight and would go for the security alarm because it is less money and more effective in my opinion.</p>
<p>If you have a wireless security alarm installed, especially one with an auto dialler which rings out telephone numbers when it goes into alarm condition, this is an effective tool. It allows friends and family to monitor the alarm from any location in the world. It also signals to street wise burglars that you have a security alarm within auto dialler, because they will recognise the system from the external siren box.</p>
<p>CCTV is an excellent and protective tool allowing night vision cameras to view the record and record day and night with excellent clarity onto a digital video recorder hard drive, with the time and date imprinted for evidence for the police. But if this equipment is installed I would recommend getting quality cameras especially for night-time conditions.</p>
<p>But if done with quality equipment it is an expensive job in comparison to locks and alarms.</p>
<p>AD Alarms approved installer of the wireless <a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/security-alarm/wireless-alarms/" target="_new">Yale Alarm </a><a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/security-alarm/wireless-alarms/"></a></p>
<p>AD Alarms also <a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/yale-locks/">Bradford Locksmith</a> and <a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/yale-locks/">Leeds Locksmith</a></p>


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		<title>Builder likes Whitby Cottages analytics and learns SEO</title>
		<link>http://alandavidson.me/2011/12/bradford-builder-whitby-cottages/</link>
		<comments>http://alandavidson.me/2011/12/bradford-builder-whitby-cottages/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:40:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Endeavour Cottage Whitby]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO and CCTV]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The Bradford builder called David Hawkes as built some fantastic new build properties over the years and he was
 the one that renovated my Whitby holiday cottage in 2007.
When he came to me three weeks ago to ask about having a website made from this company, like most people you didn’t realise there was a lot [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The <a href="http://a1-builders-bradford-leeds.com/">Bradford builder</a> called David Hawkes as built some fantastic new build properties over the years and he was</p>
<div id="attachment_2493" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-2493" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/12/bradford-builder-whitby-cottages/whitby-cottages-7/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2493" title="Whitby-cottages" src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Whitby-cottages-300x176.png" alt="Builder builds website" width="300" height="176" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Builder builds website</p></div>
<p> the one that renovated my <a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/">Whitby holiday cottag</a>e in 2007.</p>
<p>When he came to me three weeks ago to ask about having a website made from this company, like most people you didn’t realise there was a lot more important aspects to the website and just how it looks.</p>
<p>The website is now being indexed by Google although it’s not quite finished by Mark who is doing a great job on the design. <a href="http://a1-builders-bradford-leeds.com/" target="_blank">http://a1-builders-bradford-leeds.com/</a></p>
<p>So far I have had 3, 2 our sessions on the subject of search engine optimisation and I he expected to get so involved in subject when he first asked the website until I showed him in my Google Webmaster tools and specifically the Google analytics page which shows you exactly and the people visit your site, how long they stay on the website on which pages they have looked at. It’s an absolutely fabulous to it gives you every single piece of information regarding look at your website what words they use when they were finding it where they came from the list goes on.</p>
<p>Davids eyes lit up when I showed in my <a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/">Whitby cottages </a>website in the last year at just over 47,000 hits and if I was paying for Google ad words it would have cost me approximately £0.50 per click to be on page one of the search engine and you don’t have to be Einstein to work out how much that would have cost.</p>
<p> I got into the subject because of the <a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/">Whitby holiday cottages</a>, but I now also apply it to my <a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/cctv/cctv-domestic-installation/">CCTV </a>and <a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/security-alarm/wireless-alarms/">Wireless Alarm Installation </a>company called <a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/">AD Alarms</a>. I didn’t used to work much beyond Bradford but over the last eight months I’ve been installing a lot of <a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/security-alarm/wireless-alarms/">Yale Wireless Alarms </a>and they only take about two hours to install, so I’ve opened up the installation coverage to most of the North of England. Once again it’s been search engine optimisation my website that has enabled me to be or to get the traffic from a much wider area of the country.</p>
<p>Anyway the websites been done at mates rates and the search engine optimisation is being thrown in and I’m sure that his website will get to the top of the search engines where all the traffic is with a little bit of work from David in some guidance from myself.</p>


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		<title>Who is the biggest drip in Whitby, it’s me</title>
		<link>http://alandavidson.me/2011/12/who-is-the-biggest-drip-in-whitby-it%e2%80%99s-me/</link>
		<comments>http://alandavidson.me/2011/12/who-is-the-biggest-drip-in-whitby-it%e2%80%99s-me/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 04 Dec 2011 19:24:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Whitby Blog]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alandavidson.me/?p=2477</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week I was in Whitby staying in my Whitby holiday cottage because the first time in four years we’ve actually got no bookings for December until Christmas, I couldn’t understand why because there has been virtually no gaps but then when I looked at the other agencies and cottages there were all the same, [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Last week I was in Whitby staying in my <a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/">Whitby holiday cottage </a>because the first time in four years we’ve actually got no bookings for December until Christmas, I couldn’t understand why because there has been virtually no gaps<a rel="attachment wp-att-2478" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/12/who-is-the-biggest-drip-in-whitby-it%e2%80%99s-me/whitby-sea/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2478" title="whitby-sea" src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/whitby-sea.jpg" alt="A particularly rough sea in Whitby" width="384" height="288" /></a> but then when I looked at the other agencies and cottages there were all the same, it’s just the economic gloom at the moment before Christmas etc.</p>
<p>Anyway because of that I was staying for a few days and do some maintenance repairs, not that anything was desperate but it might as well be done when this opportunity. On the Sunday evening I had been painting  most of the afternoon and decided I would take a walk along the cliff top around 4 PM just before darkness descended and it was a lovely evening and extremely quiet which makes Whitby all the more beautiful.</p>
<p>When I got to the part for the Royal Crescent Hotel and the statuette of Captain Cook was surprised when I looked over the harbour to see a crowd of people all standing back watching an extremely powerful sea crashing in, which was surprising because it was an extremely still night with virtually no wind. Anyway I decided I go down and join them and it was fantastic the waves were crashing over the pier front and people were literally standing back to scared to go near the front which was I soon found out the very wise decision.</p>
<p>I decided that to get a good shot of the wave crashing over the section of pier in front of me I needed to get a little closer and the my great wisdom had not worked out the fact that with the wall been in front of me I couldn’t actually see the waves coming forward and so when a particular large wave crashed in I suddenly found 100 buckets of freezing cold water heating me all the same time with a few shovels of salt thrown into good measure, well at least I entertained the crowd as I walked and dripped  off back towards the cottage to get changed.</p>
<p>Next day I was talking to one of the fisherman and he said that the last time they have seen website that crashing in was about 10 years earlier, and it had been caused by some freak disturbance of the top of Scotland which has sent the waves crashing down the East Coast. In fact the waves were so powerful that beyond the bridge I went to see a property which is the sale and was told by the neighbours that the sea waves have been coming over Church Street across the road and hitting the cottages and then actually had to put some bugs out to stop the water getting inside the property’s!</p>
<p>Anyway I’ve enjoyed my time in Whitby and I’m hoping to get back because the cottages still empty, so I have placed an offer of 25 percent off till Xmas  and we’ve even now at the cancellation of the Christmas which has been booked all year because of ill-health so that people cannot arrive. If I can not manage to get the booking unfortunate they will lose all their money so fingers crossed I’ll try my best over the next three weeks. And if not let’s look on the bright side at least I’ll be spending more time in Whitby and maybe even Christmas.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/">Endeavour Whitby Holiday Cottages in Whitby </a></p>


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		<title>Little black-and-white frozen moments of Whitby’s history</title>
		<link>http://alandavidson.me/2011/11/little-black-and-white-frozen-moments-of-whitby%e2%80%99s-history/</link>
		<comments>http://alandavidson.me/2011/11/little-black-and-white-frozen-moments-of-whitby%e2%80%99s-history/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:54:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Endeavour Cottage Whitby]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Whitby Blog]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[I have been quite excited by my recent purchases on eBay; I started to buy some glass negatives approximately 100 years’ old couple of weeks back. The thing that makes them exciting is that they were all shot in Whitby, showing what appears to be a Victorian family enjoying their time in the streets and on [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_2460" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 247px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-2460" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/11/little-black-and-white-frozen-moments-of-whitby%e2%80%99s-history/whitby-glass-negative/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2460  " style="margin: 9px;" title="whitby-glass-negative" src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/whitby-glass-negative-237x300.jpg" alt="A Whitby Victorian old glass negative picture of people walking in the streets approximately 100 years ago" width="237" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Walking past what would be later in time The Magpie cafe in Whitby </p></div>
<p>I have been quite excited by my recent purchases on eBay; I started to buy some glass negatives approximately 100 years’ old couple of weeks back. The thing that makes them exciting is that they were all shot in Whitby, showing what appears to be a Victorian family enjoying their time in the streets and on the beach. I have been watching Whitby related items for the last four years and I&#8217;ve never come across any glass negatives like these wealthy Victorian in people holiday in the town, so they are not that common at all. </p>
<p>The lady that&#8217;s been selling these negatives  on eBay told me that she bought a large collection of random glass negatives them at an auction and only when she look through them that you recognise that some of them were in Whitby. </p>
<p>It&#8217;s kind of a little bit fact-finding gold because if the negatives are places that are not recognisable they sell for small amounts of money and only if the place is popular and recognisable or has a particular ship car from the past does it then become more profitable when selling. The very first slide went up was snatched up by somebody for approximately £60 and on the same evening and next two negatives were won  by someone using some automated bidding software in the last few seconds of the auction.</p>
<p>So by the time the fourth slide came up that evening I just slapped a £100 maximum bid down determined in the last few seconds to get at least one and I managed to get it for £88. Luckily as the last two weeks have gone by the Whitby negatives became a little less costly, so I haven&#8217;t had to pay quite as much for the other 10 negative slides I&#8217;ve bought.</p>
<p> Frank Sutcliffe is the famous photographer with a gallery in the town and he took some extremely fine photographs of Whitby and surrounding areas, but the thing is that the ones you see now are always shots of the local fishermen and working women of the town. Frank moved to Whitby because it was then a novelty to have holidays at the seaside for those few people were rich enough to be up to doing this, with the vast majority of people being very poor and working long hours and certainly not being able to afford holidays. But the time was that Frank made his money from the rich Victorian holidaymakers but the photographs you now see at what he took for his own interests of the local working people. </p>
<p>I have spent hours over the last couple of weeks trying to perfect the art of scanning the small three inches square glass negatives so that I could actually enlarge the images and reprint them on my large format printer keeping the quality still very sharp and good. It&#8217;s taken a lot of studying and practice but I&#8217;ve managed to now and reprint them on canvas and they look amazing, even though I say so myself.</p>
<p>I find it rather strange when you can look at this moment in time that throws and from 100 years ago and look into the eyes of the people and see and recognise the buildings in the background that are still there today 100 years later. I have one particular photograph which was taken at a distance across to the East side of Whitby</p>
<div id="attachment_2461" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 210px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-2461" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/11/little-black-and-white-frozen-moments-of-whitby%e2%80%99s-history/glass-negative-of-whitby/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2461" title="glass-negative-of-whitby" src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/glass-negative-of-whitby-200x300.jpg" alt="A glass negative of Victorians on Whitby beech " width="200" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">A glass negative of Victorians on Whitby beech </p></div>
<p> from the Westcliffe and this one was on a larger glass slide about 8 inches in diameter, the strange thing was that when I scanned it at very high-resolution I could actually see a row of little ragamuffin children standing on the cliff watching the photographer. In fact when you scan them very carefully high-resolution, you get amazing detail that you wouldn&#8217;t have seen and it&#8217;s a like peering back into the past at that moment in time frozen when the world was a very different place.. </p>
<p>I will be putting these old the sale on <a href="http://www.whitby-art.co.uk/">www.whitby-art.co.uk</a> although to be perfectly honest when I first started the <a href="http://whitby-art.co.uk/">Whitby Art </a>  website, I was getting orders in but was getting quite angry when orders actually arrived.</p>
<p>The reason is that when I worked out the amount of time it took to print and put together the box canvas and then the postage and packing I wasn’t making enough profit margin when I was compare my pricings to places like eBay. Anyway I have increasing the prices sufficiently to reduce the orders but to make them worthwhile when they do come in.</p>
<p>I think there a little special these frozen moments of Whitby&#8217;s history and I&#8217;ll enjoy doing them. And if I don&#8217;t get many orders I&#8217;ll still be happy because my home and  my <a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/">Whitby holiday cottages</a> and I will be enjoying the fruits of my labour. </p>
<p>If you&#8217;re interested keep an eye on my website and I will be putting up the other little chunks of history very soon.</p>


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		<title>Alan Davidson Mini Bio</title>
		<link>http://alandavidson.me/2011/10/alan-davidson-mini-bio/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 22 Oct 2011 21:12:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[MY Mini Bio]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[ I left school early at the age of 16 with six GCSEs because tragically my parents died whilst I was  a teenager, so I became an apprentice electrician passing my approved electrician and electronics in the late 1970s.
In 1984 I went on the enterprise allowance scheme which meant the government gave me £2000 for one [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> I left school early at the age of 16 with six GCSEs because tragically my parents died whilst I was  a teenager, so I became an apprentice electrician passing my approved electrician and electronics in the late 1970s.</p>
<p>In 1984 I went on the enterprise allowance scheme which meant the government gave me £2000 for one year by monthly installments and started my own company <a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/">www.adalarms.co.uk</a> which installs CCTV and specialises nowadays in wireless alarms.</p>
<p>My hobbies are psychology and internet marketing using search engine optimisation.</p>
<div id="attachment_2420" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-2420" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/10/alan-davidson-mini-bio/alan-davidson-tony-curtis-sir-roger-moore/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2420 " title="Alan Davidson with Tony Curtis in the middle and Sir Roger Moore " src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/alan-davidson-tony-curtis-sir-roger-moore-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Alan Davidson with Tony Curtis in the middle and Sir Roger Moore on the left</p></div>
<p>My favorite program in the 70s was The Persuaders starring Sir Roger Moore and Tony Curtis.  I was privileged to meet Tony on several occasions and indeed interviewed him about the program which is on YouTube. I also have met Sir Roger on many occasions and I enjoy the privilege of being his official webmaster of his website <a href="http://www.roger-moore.com/">www.roger-moore.com</a> which reflects Sir Rogers work as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and also his acting career in roles like The Saint and James Bond. I choose six questions each month for Sir Roger to answer which had been sent in by his fans.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">Sir Roger Moore Tony Curtis and me at The Empire Film Awards 2006</p>
<p>I enjoy challenges and in 2000 whilst working on a film set as a freelance electrician, I was invited to do a small walk on part. This led me and my partner Pauline to becoming friends with a new agency owner for background artists and we went on to enjoy walk on parts in most of the popular soaps on TV and other programs like Heartbeat, which I particularly enjoyed because it is shot on location in Whitby.  My best role was as the barman in Where the Heart Is. after a couple of years I decided to stop working for the agency but I will never forget it,  we had some very unique and enjoyable funny interesting days on different sets.</p>
<div id="attachment_2432" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-2432" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/10/alan-davidson-mini-bio/uri-geller/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2432" title="Pauline and myself  at Uri Gellers house" src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Uri-Geller-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Pauline and myself at Uri Gellers house</p></div>
<p>In 2002 whilst talking to Uri Geller the psychic at a book signing, I became is web manager and friend, which allowed me to meet people like Michael Jackson and various other well-known celebrities. Uri used to get me tickets to various celebrity bashes, but the novelty soon wore off I’m not the kind of person to be overly impressed by celebrity.</p>
<div id="attachment_2435" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a rel="attachment wp-att-2435" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/10/alan-davidson-mini-bio/where-the-heart-is/"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2435" title="Alan Davidson asked a man in the TV programme Where The Heart Is" src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/where-the-heart-is-300x291.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="291" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Me as the barman in Where The Heart Is</p></div>
<p>My favorite place in the world is Whitby in North Yorkshire, where I almost bought a large guest house in 1988 on the Royal Crescent, but was gazumped, which was a pity. I was lucky enough to buy a holiday cottage near the harbor <a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/">www.endeavourcottage.co.uk</a> in 2008 and I’ve now started a new project to form the Whitby Holiday Letting Agency at <a href="http://www.whitby-holiday-cottages.co.uk/">www.whitby-holiday-cottages.co.uk</a> with a view to expanding its business and move into Whitby to permanently live.</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">Pauline, me and Uri Geller in his house</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Me as the barman in Where The Heart Is</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">My interview with Tony Curtis talking about The Persuaders <a href="http://youtu.be/St1VRlvSWi0">http://youtu.be/St1VRlvSWi0</a></p>
<p>My personal blog is at <a href="http://alandavidson.me/">http://alandavidson.me/</a></p>
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		<title>Beware of Con Artists Renting your Holiday Accommodation!</title>
		<link>http://alandavidson.me/2011/10/beware-of-con-artists-renting-your-holiday-accommodation/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 16 Oct 2011 11:36:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[The following story is what actually happened to me and my holiday cottage in Whitby a couple of weeks back and if it helps anybody else from been cheated it was all been worthwhile writing.
I been letting my cottage in Whitby to holidaymakers for just over 3 ½ years now and to be perfectly honest [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-2359" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/10/beware-of-con-artists-renting-your-holiday-accommodation/whitby-cottages-6/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2359" title="Whitby-Cottages" src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Whitby-Cottages.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="200" /></a>The following story is what actually happened to me and my holiday cottage in Whitby a couple of weeks back and if it helps anybody else from <span id="GRmark_6e4f7a7d7654066194d4ae071702514a5207d0c0_been:0" class="GRcorrect">been</span> cheated it was all been worthwhile writing.</p>
<p>I <span id="GRmark_45537b1c630aeaf316f86a0c5a8e77608368cbb3_been letting:0" class="GRcorrect">been letting</span> my cottage in Whitby to <span id="GRmark_45537b1c630aeaf316f86a0c5a8e77608368cbb3_holidaymakers:1" class="GRcorrect">holidaymakers</span> for just over 3 ½ years now and to be perfectly honest I found the whole procedure a great success and an enjoyable business. Most things in life tend to be not quite as good as you are expecting, but I found this not to be the case with this business, with the cottage has been almost total all year round right from the very beginning of letting it.</p>
<p>We leave a guest book in the cottage where people can <span id="GRmark_f685b2737c9d8a530350dc6865e3c6fdb7b775a7_handwrite:0" class="GRcorrect">handwrite</span> their comments and I can honestly say there have been hardly any complaints, or shall we say to put it more nicely constructive criticism. Most people really look after the cottage and there has been virtually no problems or damages. And so because of this and never bothered to take a returnable bond from people like some of the other letting companies do, I’ve more or less left the process free and easy.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/whitby-holiday-cottage-guest-book.html" target="_blank">Whitby Holiday Cottages Guest Book </a></p>
<p>So I was surprised when I was sat having a meal last Saturday when I received an e-mail on my mobile telephone, with a list of complaints about the condition of my cottage and how unsatisfactory it was.</p>
<p>In fact there were also around 15 photographs showing these so-called dissatisfactions. I am being totally honest when I said my initial reaction was this is absolutely rubbish, you cannot have had literally hundreds of people staying in the cottage over a three year period with almost virtually any complaints whatsoever and with most people really enjoying their stay and then suddenly have one guest with list of about ten complaints, even typed in red to <span id="GRmark_418bc17702e28ac5403135163e2e134916ffb9ea_emphasise:0" class="GRcorrect">emphasise</span> the fact!</p>
<p>When I looked at the photographs there was four shots of our kitchen blind bracket which was at an angle due to the fact one screw was missing on one side, even though I later found it still actually worked and pulled down okay.</p>
<p>The next set of photographs was the Queen Size bed quilt, it had a large patch of some mysterious clear looking fluid on it and also a double sided rip of about 6 inches wide! We’ve been using the same cleaner for almost two years now and we’ve got to know her very well she does a very good job and would certainly never have used a quilt with this kind of exaggerated rip.</p>
<p>Now in the case with these particular to guests, on the day they arrived the Monday I actually met them because I had been staying in my cottage myself. This isn’t normally the case because usually one guess goes out as another comes in and they get their keys from the key safe. This means that I knew for certain that that kitchen blind was perfectly okay because I had been using it for three days myself.</p>
<p>Also on the day of their arrival I call back to the cottage after the cleaner had finished to inspect it and they arrived around midday whilst I was there, which was two hours earlier than their permitted entrance time of 2 PM. I just greeted them told them it was fine to enter early and gave them directions to the car park for which we provide a free parking permit.</p>
<p>So when I thought about it and analysed their complaints I knew for certain that they were a set of manufactured lies.</p>
<p>In actual fact they had book the cottage two weeks earlier, due to late last-minute unfortunate cancellation and right from the very first communications Pauline and myself and had our suspicions about the character of the person booking it. The reason is he was making it very confusing saying he wanted to book 2 nights with me and then ringing up my partner and saying it actually booked four nights and then moving off the subject trying to confuse the facts. Pauline and phoned me up in Whitby to tell me this and so immediately telephoned the man up to make it totally clear on the phone that if you wanted four nights holiday rather than two he could have them because the cottage was available. I also offered him £30 reduction on the tariff due to the confusion, which when I considered it afterwards was actually caused by him!</p>
<p>So the gentleman finished off his e-mail by threatening to report my cottage to Whitby Tourist Information board and various other organisations like Trip Adviser. He went on to say that he was in charge of 18 hotels and knew what good accommodation should be kept like and that they had stayed for one night only on the Monday and then they had left because of the condition of the cottage to stay in a hotel. He offered to pay for one night only in wanted his money back to the other three nights when he supposedly had not stayed.</p>
<p>As soon as I contacted the cleaner she told me that on the following Friday, four days later she had arrived at the cottage one hour early than their official departure time which is 10 AM, just in case the people have left early and she immediately saw them still occupying the cottage with all their possessions still inside and so went to give them time to leave.</p>
<p>I then went on to contact the neighbours who confirmed that they had seen the couple coming and going during the week, is a particular Whitby yard you have to pass the first cottage in the cul-de-sac to get to mine. One of the neighbours had even seen the man loading up is On Friday morning, and said to him “I hope you had a nice time”? to which do man replied rather shift away “Yes but we haven’t stayed in the cottage” the neighbourhood immediately thought how strange I’ve seen them coming and going all week long!</p>
<p>I immediately sent the man an e-mail to tell them I would certainly not be refund in any money whatsoever and I would be going down to the cottage the following day to get a backup copy of my CCTV footage which is recorded on a digital video recorder in the attic, which is stamped with the time and date recording.</p>
<p>I also pointed out that if there had been any truth about not being satisfied with the accommodation, they should have contacted me immediately, especially if they intended to leave early, because the cottage could have been occupied by somebody else.</p>
<p>So what we have here is a pair of con artists who basically book themselves into some privately owned accommodation and then send a barrage of complaints and threats in an attempt to get most of their money back and have virtually free holiday.</p>
<p>The sad thing is that if people were not so confident about the condition of their accommodation, or they were new to this particular business, or just people who could be intimidated easily, I’m sure they would have refund of the money and the con artist would have got away with the scam.</p>
<p>Also when you look practically at Whitby some of the holiday cottages are located in isolated spots where there would be no neighbours to see whether the people have been actually occupying the accommodation. So it would be far more difficult to prove if the people that actually stayed in the accommodation.</p>
<p>I think it’s probably a little extreme that people in Whitby start going to the effort of having a CCTV camera and recorder fitted, because actually crime in this area is very well in comparison to Bradford where my CCTV and security alarm installation business is based.</p>
<p>When I first bought the cottage I had a large letting company from Scarborough come to view the property and he told me that he had over 100 cottages on its books in the area and none of them had a security alarm and CCTV and it wasn’t necessary, but in my case it did become useful a few years later!</p>
<p>I think they should apply for a job on TV presenting The Real Hustle!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk">www.adalarms.co.uk</a> Est 1984 Specialists in <a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/security-alarm/wireless-alarms/" target="_blank">Wireless Alarms </a><a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/"></a>and <a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/cctv/cctv-domestic-installation/" target="_blank">CCTV </a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/">Whitby Holiday Cottages</a> for self-catering accommodation</p>
<p>If you fancy a short break take a look at our <a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/">Whitby Cottages</a></p>
<p>Alan Davidson</p>
<p>AD Alarms <a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/yale-locks/">Bradford Locksmith </a></p>
<p>AD Alarms<a href="http://www.adalarms.co.uk/yale-locks/"> Leeds Locksmith </a></p>


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		<title>Whitby Gazette and Facebook promoted a peaceful demonstration over the closure of Whitby pier</title>
		<link>http://alandavidson.me/2011/10/whitby-gazette-and-facebook-promoted-a-peaceful-demonstration-over-the-closure-of-whitby-pier/</link>
		<comments>http://alandavidson.me/2011/10/whitby-gazette-and-facebook-promoted-a-peaceful-demonstration-over-the-closure-of-whitby-pier/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:40:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weekly observations]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[A peaceful demonstration in Whitby on Sunday, 2 October 2011 about the closure of Whitby’s pier.
To be perfectly honest I’m not fully up to speed with what exactly is going on but today at 12 o’clock Sunday, 2 October there was a peaceful demonstration starting at the bandstand in Whitby and walking along the pier [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-2346" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/10/whitby-gazette-and-facebook-promoted-a-peaceful-demonstration-over-the-closure-of-whitby-pier/whitby-piers/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2346" title="Whitby-Piers" src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Whitby-Piers.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="288" /></a>A peaceful demonstration in Whitby on Sunday, 2 October 2011 about the closure of Whitby’s pier.<br />
To be perfectly honest I’m not fully up to speed with what exactly is going on but today at 12 o’clock Sunday, 2 October there was a peaceful demonstration starting at the bandstand in Whitby and walking along the pier to the point where the wooden crossing is now been sectioned off, because it has been found to be unsafe.<br />
Maybe I was expecting too much but I actually thought there would be more people at the demonstration there may have been something like 200 but I was expecting a bigger crowd.<br />
The big problem seems to be the Scarborough Council are accused of not spending very much money in Whitby and letting things go to rack and ruin and by letting the pier get to the point where it’s safe is very bad in the town in many respects. Now the tourists and the fishing people cannot go on the pier and that can’t be right surely they should have had regular checks on its structure and maintenance work.<br />
A very prominent local whose grandfather is actually worked on the construction of the pier when it was originally built well over 100 years ago, that the wooden structure was removed to the Second World War and then didn’t get reinstated until 1948, but it is of great importance to the town and it should have been looked after and not neglected. If you look to the opposite pier that has been closed to fisherman for over 10 years now and that was the most popular fishing pier because it faces the open sea.<br />
I was told that when Whitby had the choice to be governed by Scarborough Council or Cleveland Council they believed Cleveland would have looked after the town much better. It seems that everybody you talk to in the town is unhappy with the neglect and lack of money that is being spent in Whitby when the opposite seems to be happening in Scarborough.<br />
Anyway if the Internet and Facebook campaigns like “save Whitby’s piers” and newspaper articles and media coverage how that this situation maybe something will be done. One of the local said to me that what they wanted everybody to do was to not pay their council tax to Scarborough and to pay it to Cleveland Council in demonstration, according to him this would not be breaking the law but as I said previously I’m not sure about this.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="attachment wp-att-2349" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/10/whitby-gazette-and-facebook-promoted-a-peaceful-demonstration-over-the-closure-of-whitby-pier/whitby-piers-002-2/"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2349" title="whitby-piers-002" src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/whitby-piers-0021-1024x191.jpg" alt="" width="614" height="115" /></a><br />
The good news is that there is going to be a replacement bridge across the pier which is going to made of metal which will not deteriorate but the only doubt is that people seem to be voicing was that how soon will this happen?</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sAAYOcsI3Bg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>


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		<title>What is the reality of owning a holiday cottage in the UK?</title>
		<link>http://alandavidson.me/2011/09/what-is-the-reality-of-owning-a-holiday-cottage-in-the-uk/</link>
		<comments>http://alandavidson.me/2011/09/what-is-the-reality-of-owning-a-holiday-cottage-in-the-uk/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:56:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alandavidson.me/?p=2310</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well I&#8217;ll tell you because I own one and I&#8217;m currently trying to buy a second one even though we are experiencing quite a downturn in the global, economy at the time of writing.
To put it quickly and bluntly it&#8217;s like every other business in the world, it&#8217;s only successful if you&#8217;re willing to put [...]


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<li><a href='http://alandavidson.me/2011/08/how-the-internet-is-an-equaliser-it-allows-you-to-compete-against-the-bigger-companies/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: How the Internet is an equaliser against the bigger companies'>How the Internet is an equaliser against the bigger companies</a> <small>How the Internet is an equaliser it allows you to...</small></li>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well I&#8217;ll tell you because I own one and I&#8217;m currently trying to buy a second one even though we are experiencing quite a downturn in the global, economy at the time of writing.<a rel="attachment wp-att-2314" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/09/what-is-the-reality-of-owning-a-holiday-cottage-in-the-uk/whitby-holiday-cottages-11/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-2314" title="whitby-holiday-cottages" src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/whitby-holiday-cottages2.jpg" alt="" width="585" height="330" /></a></p>
<p>To put it quickly and bluntly it&#8217;s like every other business in the world, it&#8217;s only successful if you&#8217;re willing to put the hard-working to make so.<br />
I bought my first holiday cottage in October 2007 just as we were about to enter the recession and obviously because of that I paid much more than I would have done if I had waited because prices were going to plummet that nobody knew just at that moment in time as I was purchasing a property. A couple of months later the banks were collapsing and it was completely different world.</p>
<p>But looking on the positive aspects of the business venture, because I’m not independently wealthy I had to make sure that as much as possible my cottage occupancy will pay the mortgage and all the other related bills.<br />
I’d dabbled in web design and various other aspects of the Internet but had never deeply gone into search engine optimisation subject, which is the process of getting your website high up the listings so, it can achieve more traffic. But I quickly realised that if I needed to market my property on the Internet efficiently and without the extremely high cost of paper advertising I needed to understand the subject quickly and efficiently.</p>
<p>So probably the most beneficial aspect of the whole thing has been I’ve learnt this subject quite deeply and it’s helped me to make sure my holiday cottage occupancy rate is well over 90% throughout the entire year. In fact I’m now at the point where I’m ready to buy a second cottage when prices are at the lowest they have ever been and there are even rumbles of a second dip in the UK economy and problems globally in the financial markets.<br />
You might think that this is a little risky but I truly think that because I’ve set up such a network of Internet traffic and my website receives such good volumes of potential customers I’m even starting to like cottages for other owners and starting my own holiday letting agency in Whitby.</p>
<p>Through the process of search engine optimisation I have also applied it to my main business website which is about installation of CCTV and security alarms, which is my bread and butter business that I’ve been involved in for almost 30 years.<br />
So whether it’s harder letting or whatever the business if you need more customers my advice to you would be too immersed yourself in search engine optimisation and treat this as an important extension of your business.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/">Whitby Holiday Cottages</a> for self-catering accommodation</p>
<p>If you fancy a short break take a look at our <a href="http://www.endeavourcottage.co.uk/">Whitby Cottages</a></p>


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<li><a href='http://alandavidson.me/2011/08/how-the-internet-is-an-equaliser-it-allows-you-to-compete-against-the-bigger-companies/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: How the Internet is an equaliser against the bigger companies'>How the Internet is an equaliser against the bigger companies</a> <small>How the Internet is an equaliser it allows you to...</small></li>
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		<title>My video walk around Whitby!</title>
		<link>http://alandavidson.me/2011/09/my-video-walk-around-whitby/</link>
		<comments>http://alandavidson.me/2011/09/my-video-walk-around-whitby/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:49:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weekly observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Whitby]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[On Friday morning I went to my favourite cafe at the end of the pier in Whitby and other baked potato, and then decided I would go for a nice long walk around Whitby as part of my get fit campaign and on the spur of the moment I suddenly felt why not film it [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-2306" href="http://alandavidson.me/2011/09/my-video-walk-around-whitby/whitby-toure-guide/"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2306" title="whitby-toure-guide" src="http://alandavidson.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/whitby-toure-guide-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>On Friday morning I went to my favourite cafe at the end of the pier in Whitby and other baked potato, and then decided I would go for a nice long walk around Whitby as part of my get fit campaign and on the spur of the moment I suddenly felt why not film it on my new Samsung videophone.</p>
<p>The thing is that there be no planning and when I watched a film back you can actually see the phone me jumping up and down and huffing and puffing around Whitby, but am putting it online I just hope it doesn&#8217;t look so horrendously unprofessional. At the time I thought I will bother try to keep the phone steady I&#8217;ll just make it look like an authentic walked a bit different to the usual polished type of film you tend to see good at the end of the day it was just a case of me legging it up and down the health of Whitby whilst spouting a little bit of information that I have gleaned about the place.</p>
<p>The funny thing about making walking tour is that I spend 50 minutes walking around the town of Whitby and then spent three hours messing about with the software and putting the subtitles on. It was only a spur of the moment idea that suddenly took up a bit more time than anticipated! I hope some people find it useful.</p>
<p>I did a film about Whitby in 2010 and it&#8217;s been actually quite well received, it&#8217;s usually positioned at the top of you tube is listing for the single word Whitby and it&#8217;s about 5000 hits just over this year, but I did put more effort into that one <img src='http://alandavidson.me/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':-)' class='wp-smiley' />  here is the link.<br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BK90sIsR8p4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
Sometimes people take things too seriously they spent ages polishing all aspects of their production but I just thought I&#8217;d go for the amateur look, which suits my technical abilities but awfully some people will find this of interest and skim through the film to see bits of the town that they&#8217;re interested in and it does give you some idea if you&#8217;ve never been to Whitby or have not been there for a long time etc.</p>
<p>The only nice thing was that when I use the software because the film is almost one hour long I tried a few times and it kept defaulting the leaving sections of the film silent so I ended up having to mess about just get it to work with sound all the way through!</p>
<p>My god technology sometimes drives one around the bend</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FOH7AqnrF0g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>


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