Update
17th January 2025
Some progress made with using AI has lead to some erratic effects. There are a number of broken links which I have now been correcting as I come across them. The reproduction of the site in the *.pdf format is going ahead faster than anticipated. The out come will be a standalone series of documents which are presented so that they do not involve a complex in-cloud based data but one that can be accessed and downloaded from a source held on USB stick. Meanwile the debris from the beech hedge needs raking up………
5th December 2024
Yes it has been a long time…. However the very tedious solution is to make a copy page by page in the .pdf format using “Snagit” and Kofax “Power PDF”.
7thd March 2024
An early dry run would suggest that it is impractical to complete a hard copy of the full or even part of the website. I have therefore made an UpdraftPlus backup stored on OneDrive, a USB stick, my PC and will now retire to the garden.
2nd October 2023
Very little new material has been submitted to the website recently. It is now probably time to convert what is on the site to hard copy. Currently there are 1786 pages so it will take a good deal of both printer ink and printer paper. It could be achieved automatically with a program such as “Print My Blog” but experimenting with it seems to reveal that the outcome down this route would not be satisfactory. A page by laborious page is the inevitable choice.
7th July 2023
Progressive improvement of the presentation of the Nosworthy card documents in Data/Clinical to improve their appearance.
27th June 2023
The website has been “down” for a couple of weeks as automatic backup maintenance exceeded the storage limit whilst away on the Rhone…… That is now fixed but has left the website a little bit more erratic than normal.
12th June 2023
Some progress has been made with Chris Rodgers’s photographs – most of it in the background with “keyphrases” and “metadata”. The pages are in minor chaos at the moment but progress is being made interrupted by time spent on a visit to the RAF Regiment Heritage Centre at RAF Honington where there is a small corner dedicated to RAF Salalah. It is a well spread out museum and very well worth a visit.
16th May 2023
Still feeling very “long Covid” I feel that the time has come to take up the offer from Chris Rodgers to show off some of his photographs from Oman. There are a good number of them and arranging them on the website with the appropriate text will take some time. The index page will be populated bit by bit as time allows. Bid Bid has been interrupted by time in Devon.
19th April 2023
Three years being careful, all my vaccinations, careful on the flight to and from Oman in December but now Covid following a conference that a family member attended in Blackpool.
29th March 2023
It has been a while…….and the site backup has been moved from DropBox to OneDrive. Not a good move I might add but it has been done so I will have to live with it. The Veterans Tour to Oman in early December 22 is now in the past and leaves vivid memories. There are more contributions to add to both the “Documentary” part of the website and the photographs.
Some time spent checking on and expanding content using ChatGPT which ended quite quickly either in a a plethora of conflicting detail or none at all. I don’t doubt that when such sites become more robust and reliable I will revisit them.
3rd November 2022
The order from Brigadier Graham to Col Harvey the Commander Dhofar to set up Op Aqubah has been included in the SOAF page relating to Hauf. It has been sitting on my hard drive since 2011 waiting to be included.
12th October 2022
It seems to be the time to include a glossary to make this site more intelligible. It will take considerable time to establish and by its very nature will continue to evolve. I am struggling with the software for the “Popups”
10th October 2022
Reflections on casevac in 1972 and 2022 (Documents)
20th June 2022
A few more images from Michael Stevens and a book cover, in Sources, for Sir Simon Mayall’s book. “Soldier in the Sand”
4th June 2022
One URL fixed whilst the weather keeps me in from the garden.
5th May 2022
The plugin used to connect some images to *.pdf files is no longer supported. Consequently there are some broken links which I will fix as I come across them or when somebody draws them to my attention.
8th February 2022
Most of the graphic design changes in the “Documents” section completed.
29th January 2022
Some changes made to the “Sources” page ; new “anchor points” inserted. Changes to “Documents” commenced.
10th December 2021
New entry in “Documents” relating to the Soviet press reporting. Update of Index Page
23th November 2021
Some changes made to backgrounds. Commenced re-building SOAF/Marbat page.
13th November 2021
Cousins and friends in Oz and NZ are not happy….. You win some you lose some.
3rd November 2021
Changes in process – a long and very tedious process – to the Documents page whereby the page that is opened by clicking an icon returns to the same “anchor” on the “Documents” page. An “Index” icon is also being added to each page. “Sources” pages have been updated.
1st November 2021
“British Units/Troops in Dhofar” entered in the “Documents” section.
27th October 2021
All previous Updates deleted.
PHP 7.4 installed
Updraft Plus Premium plugin installed.
