Like most websites you visit, this website automatically collects some information about you and your visit. You may also provide information when you submit a comment.
This privacy notice tells you what Personal Data (PD) and other data is collected, what it is used for and how it is used, how you can restrict that PD being passed to the website and what the implication of doing so might be.
It also tells you about your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
We do not hold or process any PD other than that you provide to us manually or automatically by your browser through the use of this website.
We will not sell or rent your PD to third parties.
We will not share your PD with third parties for marketing or any other purpose.
Cookies
The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR) cover the use of cookies and similar technologies for storing information, and accessing information stored, on a user’s equipment such as their computer or mobile device.
A cookie is a small file containing a string of characters that is sent to your computer when you visit some websites. When you visit the website again, the cookie is sent back to the website and allows that website to recognise your browser. Cookies may also store user preferences and other information and can be used to gather anonymous analytics that help improve websites based on how people use them. The use of cookies and similar technologies has for some time been commonplace and cookies in particular are important in the provision of many online services. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some website features or services may not function properly without cookies.
Use of cookies by this website
The first time you visit this website, a bar at the bottom of the screen reminds you that this website uses cookies, provides a link to this page so you can find out more and allows you to control your consent. By continuing to browse this website you are agreeing to our Privacy policy.
Cookies that are categorised as necessary are stored in your browser as they are essential for basic functioning. Other cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Not giving your consent may affect your browsing experience.
If you click on ‘Accept all’, you are verifying that you accept all the cookies detailed below. You can review and change your consent for cookies at any time: click on the ‘Cookie settings’ button on the bar (or click on the ‘Privacy and consent’ tab first if the bar is not visible).
Necessary cookies remembering whether or not you accepted the different categories of cookies will be stored on your computer.
This website uses WordPress software and the JetPack plugin, which provides a number of features used by the website. Both are provided by Automattic. For details of how JetPack uses your data, see here.
This website uses Google Analytics for visitor tracking. The cookies used are detailed below.
This website uses the Wordfence security plugin. Details of their GDPR compliance and the cookies it uses can be found here.
Cookie details
To manage your cookie consent settings, click: Cookie settings
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | 2 years | The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. |
| _gat | 1 minute | This cookie is installed by Google Universal Analytics to restrain request rate and thus limit the collection of data on high traffic sites. |
| _gid | 1 day | Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. |
| _GRECAPTCHA | 5 months 27 days | This cookie is set by the Google recaptcha service to identify bots to protect the website against malicious spam attacks. |
| _ir | session | The cookie is set by Pinterest. We do not know the exact purpose of the cookies. |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement | 1 year | Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category . |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
| viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Embedded content from other websites
Posts on this website may include embedded content (eg videos, images, articles, etc). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Social network tracking cookies
The social network share buttons may set third-party cookies on your machine that allows them to track you. Please refer to the privacy policies of the social network for details of what information they gather and how they track you.
Advert tracking cookies
This website does not carry adverts.
Viewing cookies
If you wish to view cookies from a website, consult your browser’s help pages.
Changing browser settings to accept or reject cookies
If you wish to prevent all cookies from being placed on your computer, you will need to change your browser settings to reject cookies. How to do this will depend on which browser you use and further details for the most popular browsers is provided below. However, this may severely affect how web pages look and how they function and some websites may not display at all. These links also provide information on additional security and privacy features and tools.
For other browsers, consult the browser’s help pages or the browser’s supplier.
For information on how to do this on the browser of your mobile phone please refer to your phone’s manual or the manufacturer’s website.
Useful information
Information regarding the PECR on cookies can be found on the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office.
A number of websites provide detailed information on cookies, including AllAboutCookies.org and AllAboutCookies.org.uk.
The Internet Advertising Bureau website Your Online Choices allows you to install opt-out cookies across different advertising networks.
Google has developed a browser add-on to allow users to opt-out of Google Analytics across all websites that use Google Analytics.
Technologies such as Mozilla’s Do Not Track allow you to tell websites not to track you.
Internet Explorer has a feature called Tracking Protection Lists that allows you to import a list of websites you want to block.
Many browsers, including Chrome and Firefox, allow you to prevent third-party websites setting cookies. Consult your browser’s help pages for further information.
Comments
When you leave a comment on the website we collect the data you provide in the comments form, and also your IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
If you leave a comment, the comment and this metadata are retained indefinitely.
We use the Akismet service to screen all comments for spam before they are published. The Akismet is operated by the same company (Automattic) that provides the software that runs this website (WordPress). Akismet’s privacy policy is available here.
Only the name and website you provide in the comment form are visible to other website visitors; specifically, the email address you provide is not visible to other website visitors.
Comments are published at our sole discretion.
Gravatar
An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here. After approval of your comment, the profile picture you have provided to Gravatar is visible to the public next to your comment.
Contact form
When you fill in the contact form, you are given the opportunity to provide a name and email address that we can use to reply to you. We will only use this email address to reply to you and we will not pass it to anyone else.
We use the Akismet service to screen the name and email address provided on the form for spam before they are sent. The Akismet is operated by the same company (Automattic) that provides the software that runs this website (WordPress). Akismet’s privacy policy is available here.
Links to other websites
This website contains links to websites owned and operated by third parties. If you use these links, you leave our website. These links are provided for your information and convenience only and are not an endorsement by us of the content of these linked websites or their owners or authors. We have no control over the contents of any linked website and are not responsible for these websites or their content or availability. Content of these websites may have changed or may have been removed since we linked to them. We accept no liability for any websites linked to from this website.
This privacy notice does not cover links within this website linking to other websites. Visiting other websites may cause cookies to be placed on your computer. You are encouraged to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit.
RSS feed
If you subscribe to one of our RSS feeds using an RSS Reader, we do not retain any information about you or your subscription. However, since we use Google’s FeedBurner service to deliver the feed, you should consult their privacy policy.
If you subscribe to one of our RSS feeds via FeedBurner and choose delivery by email, FeedBurner will collect and retain the email address you enter and this information is available to us.
Server log
When you visit this website, standard Internet server log information is collected. This includes browser data, your IP address and the pages you visit. This is stored in the website server logs as it is done on most other websites you visit. This does not contain PD.
Server location
The server that hosts this website is located in the UK and is provided by be braver.
The website is protected by an SSL security certificate provided by Let’s Encrypt.
Backups
Backups of the website including comments are stored in a fully encrypted form.
Trade marks and copyright
We retain copyright on all original material on this website. We acknowledge the trade marks and copyright of others, but we use material under the fair dealing concept, generally for criticism or review.
Your rights
The GDPR gives you certain rights.
Access
If you have left one or more comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the PD we hold about you.
You can ask for a copy of your PD by submitting a request via the contact form, giving us your name and email address you provided when submitting your comment or comments. Once we have verified your email address, we will email you the data. This will be in the form of a zip file that can be opened by most computers. This zip file contains an html page that will open in any web browser. This page contains all the data we hold on you.
Erasure
You can ask that we erase your PD by submitting a request via the contact form, giving us your name and email address you provided when submitting your comment or comments. Once we have verified your email address, we will erase the PD. This replaces the name, website and email address you provided when submitting a comment with text that contains no PD. Note that this does not delete the comment or comments.
Effectivity
This privacy notice is effective from 25 May 2018 until it is withdrawn or superseded.
Changes to this privacy notice
This privacy notice is kept under regular review. This privacy notice was last updated on 12 March 2019.
If you have any queries about this privacy notice, please contact us.
