Internet and Crossword

Making the most of phones

WEare spending more and more time on our phones or perhaps it is more accurate to call them mobile computers - although sometimes they feel more like advertising billboards! The latest ones are as powerful as the desk top computers of a few years ago. With NICK SPARKS Prices have risen dramatically yet many get limited use from them and to some they are still just used as phones. So maybe we should make an effort to ensure we are getting our money’s worth from them.

A collection of useful apps come with the new phone. Contacts, email, calender/diary, camera, gallery, news, weather, navigation (GPS) etc., but do we use them? And these are only the tip of the iceberg. In the App Store there are literally tens of thousands more.

It takes a quick search within the store to find ones relating to all manner of subjects and countless hobbies, from knitting to bell ringing, gardening to amateur radio. Many are free, some you have to pay for.

And arguably the most important feature on your device is the search facility which appears in many guises in many apps. Just the four ones outlined below highlight the extraordinary amount of information almost instantly accessible to us via that small device in our pocket.

The Wikipedia app gives search access to an online open source encyclopaedia currently approximately equivalent to over 3,000 volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and still growing.

It has been estimated that the YouTube app gives you access to 149 billion videos ranging from full feature films to self-help and DIY videos, not to mention games, and shorts from up and coming film makers, with some four billion being added each month.

Great if you need to be shown how to change a tap washer or repair a diesel fuel pump for example.

The IMDb app gives access to the Internet Movie database, which aims to list details of every movie and TV show ever made. It currently has details from about eight million titles. Originally started by a movie enthusiast it is now accepted as the go-to reference on the subject worldwide.

The Shazam app is capable of recognising Songs and Music via the device’s microphone supplying the name of the artist, title and other details from its database of 15 billion songs.

The figures above are estimates drawn from various sources via Google searches.

The amount of data available to us is truly staggering, so happy searching and just as a reminder, if you only add one app to your phone make it’s the St John First Aid manual, you may never use it but…

This article is for guidance only and the opinion of the writer. I.T. for the Terrified it4ttcvh@gmail.com Submitted for IT for the Terrified by Nick Sparks. Although we have now ceased our one to one tuition, a number of us will continue with this column under the heading "IT for the Terrified" to keep the name alive for the time being.

The Mendip Mindbender

ACROSS

1 Remove the covering of a present (6) 5 Name of a palace given to 1st

Duke of Marlborough for his success in battle (8) 9 Capital of India (3,5) 10 Light, porous form of solidified lava (6) 11 Rearranging what you have already done (12) 13 Latin word for water (4) 14 A portable, leather container for Rioja say (8) 17 Knock about and stir meat stew (8) 18 Tributary of the R.Parrett partly lending its name to a railway station at the Heart of the Wessex line (4) 20 Seaport and capital of Haiti (4-2-6) 2323a & 22d Name of the

Member of Parliament for

Yeovil (6,) 24 Homeric, epic journeys (8) 25 Throw overboard (8) 26 Rude, lewd, or crude (6)

DOWN

2 Desideratum, indigence (4) 3 Informal name for a robin (9) 4 All residents of this village receive a free ticket to

Glastonbury Festival (6) 5 Which football team (with added “e”) play at Fairfax

Park? (11,4) 6 Train next open champion (8) 7 The organic component of soil (5) 8 Pyromaniac, fire raiser (10) 12 Use ambiguous or evasive language (10) 15 Heir apparent, next in line (9) 16 Solicits, pleads for, adjures (8) 19 A protein that promotes chemical change without being affected in the reaction (6) 21 Inside Calcutta City agreement was taken as read (5) 22 See 23 across (4)

Clues in italics are cryptic

Funding access for the future

SOME5.5km of new multi-user access has just been created to plug a huge gap in the access network between Charterhouse and Priddy! Once opened, this wonderful new route will link these two communities together and provide safe, quiet recreation for the people who choose to visit this part of the Mendip Hills AONB: walkers, cyclists, horse-riders, and those with limited mobility or visual impairments.

This permissive route will connect not just the communities of Charterhouse and Priddy with each other, but will also allow users to go on to Cheddar, Westbury, Chewton Mendip, Blagdon, and Winscombe.

Once upon a time, there were no cars, no tractors, and no roads. The communities of the Mendip Hills were dominated by agriculture and lead mining, and the spider’s web of paths across the farmland was a vital lifeline for people and communities.

Many of these historic paths and tracks are still in existence and although the commute to work may have changed, they are a valuable resource for local communities and visitors to the Mendip Hills AONB. There are 440km of public rights of way across the AONB, and they are a huge draw for visitors who want to enjoy this nationally important landscape.

These networks also support local families and communities, allowing people to explore and learn about their local heritage, and giving members of the community freedom to enjoy the landscape around their homes. The pandemic taught us all how important access to the outdoors was to our mental and physical wellbeing, and this legacy left by generations past is a huge gift to us now.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t some problems with the network. Stiles that were a quick way to cross stone walls for farm workers can now be barriers to accessing a path for those with restricted mobility; routes that cut straight though fields now sometimes cause conflict between landowner and user and in some places there is no access at all.

Navigating the responsibilities of maintaining public rights of way can be challenging. Through the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, the Mendip Hills AONB Unit has been working with landowners to identify gaps in the rights of way network and places where access can be improved for all members of the local community.

Working with landowners and the relevant authorities it is trying to identify and resolve issues to ensure the rights off way network works for landowners and provides an enjoyable way for all users to access the landscape.

Funding for projects to create new strategic access multi-user routes is available through the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme. For those with existing rights of way on their land, funding is also available for enhancements above and beyond any statutory requirements – this can include upgrading access furniture to allow more people to use the route, putting biodiversity loss mitigation in place along the route, or corridoring the route off in some instances.

If you are a landowner with rights of way across your land and want more information on how to manage the access route, contact your local council’s Public Rights of Way team, or look at their website to see if they have a guide.

If you are walking/cycling/horse-riding in the Mendip Hills AONB, familiarise yourself with the Countryside Code and your responsibilities to look after the landscape. The Mendip Hills AONB website has guidance available for dog walkers and other users, a link to the green traveller guide for the area, and a few suggestions for incredible routes if you are looking to branch out from your usual haunts.

50 Trees for 50 Years

TOmark the 50th anniversary of the Mendip Hills being designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the Mendip Hills AONB Unit is working with local people and landowners to plant 50 special trees, thanks to funding from Network Rail and support from The Tree Council.

A range of native species are being planted at suitable locations across the area. Field Maple and Hornbeam are being planted in Sandford with the Parish Council and Mendip Activity Centre, whilst English Oak has been planted in Bleadon, Churchill, and East Harptree by the local Environment Group.

Common Beech and Rowan are two species that have been planted on the exposed top of the Mendip Plateau, as well as two sites managed by The Mendip Society. In addition, a Scots Pine has been planted near Shipham, with Sweet Chestnut trees planted in Priddy, Cheddar, and Burrington C of E Primary School.

Some of the 50 trees have also been planted along public rights of way on farmland, on Wildlife Trust nature reserves, and at Chew Valley Lake visitor centre with Bristol Water.

50th anniversary

Fifty years ago, on February 14th, 1972, the announcement was made that the Mendip Hills would be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and signed by the Secretary of State on December 1st, 1972. The AONB team are planning a series of exciting activities throughout the year to help people share their love for the area in recognition of the 50th anniversary.

Megan Godley Farming Engagement Officer Farming in Protected Landscapes Mendip Hills AONB Charterhouse Centre, BS40 7XR Office telephone: 01761 462338 Email: megan@mendiphillsaonb.org.uk www.mendiphillsaonb.org.uk