Where do we go from here?

[backman]

Apologies for neglecting this site recently but I have become a bit jaded with my collecting. Many people seem to have migrated to Facebook but I detest FB as a concept and certainly as far as any serious historic study goes, it's absolute pants.
In these days of Zoom conferences and online talks isn't it about time we try to reinvigorate the study and knowledge of the Schools of Nursing and the broader History of Nursing and Nursing badges? it is over 30 years since Jennifer Meglaughlin published her British Nursing Badges but our collective knowledge of the background and detail of these gems doesn't appear to have made that much headway? Whilst our pictorial archive grows slowly there are still considerable gaps in our aim to record as many as are known.We still don't really know how many UK badge variants there are,5000, 10000 or even more? So literally ,where do we go from here in 2022? Any experts out there who have organised such online seminars and what sort of subjects could we cover? 100 years of the GNC badge? The role of the Nurses Leagues in badge development. The badge today,Covid and beyond? the Nursing Buckle?  Suggestions and Volunteers ?

[myk1066]

One of the things I find difficult is badge uploading and picture size.  I?ve now started using my iPhone as the  quality is great but SoN website doesn?t allow me to upload as the size is to big & I don?t know how to reduce it.  Then there is the issue of it taking days to be approved.  I?m not a lover of FB & I do like the SoN site, great reference point.  I?d love to see a new British Nursing Badges book Vol 2, there is enough expertise amongst us to write up on badges even if it?s our own training school badge.  I?d like to see the SoN site continue. Oh and for some reason my apostrophe is showing as a question mark and my where I put a copyright symbol in my picture description I?m getting an A with an accent above it prior to my copyright symbol.

[wilfb]

Deja Vu..!!

It is now around 14 years, yes, 14 Years,  round about the time of the closure of the Microsoft Network nursing badges site that we, as collectors of British nursing badges, were about to be left without a site to display our collections. That site had become somewhat unstable, including seriously problematic uploads, finding after the time preparing the photographs for upload, and did not leave room for discussions and articles, for example.  This current site, schoolsofnursing.co.uk was, and is, my own contribution to preventing this unthinkable loss. Abetted and aided by a small coterie of collectors who encouraged my proposed effort...

Since then we have, with the aid of what is still, a small coterie, developed a reasonably large site which increasingly demands more input. which is increasingly difficult to provide without more input, so yes, it is time to reassess what we have. Hopefully we can go forward, but for my own part I feel that I can only contribute for a couple more years before I need to put up my feet and leave whatever we have to others.  And yes, between us we can have that Vol 2 of Jenny M's  nursing badges....

Perhaps just a small reminder....

http://www.schoolsofnursing.co.uk/Collections1/Collections62.htm

Very Best,
Will

[wilfb]

Just a small addition:-

6,324 files in 45 albums and 5 categories with 739 comments viewed 208,342 times - In the gallery section alone....

I like to think of the categories as 'rooms' with each room containing badge/ephemera photographs - 6324 photographs, badges; people; ephemera; Buildings; uniforms and so on - a veritable museum in itself, and membership still slowly increasing. The badge photographs will hopefully form the basis of our own 'Nursing Badges' which I am working on at every  available opportunity.  We need help with this - finding in the details of each badge, a complicated process calling for specific website skills.  I am trying to get our Tech Admin to help with this, but he is now unavailable for a couple of weeks - in Scotland over the Christmas new year period so during that time nothing will move!!

But then, we all need a break to assess where we are at...

Very Best,
Will.

[nursesue]

Christmas in a cold dreich Scotland? whatever next??? now Christmas in Crete well that's more like it.......
Perhaps we could all contribute towards a 2nd volume and maybe someone could edit it all A big job I agree.
I'm still working flat out  so no chance of furlough and not looking forward to another lockdown but I feel that's where "wee nippy" is heading. NHS Scotland is stretched to the limit and the Vic -our local hospital - is at full capacity and NHS Fife is looking for staff to offer extra hours to cover the holiday period. My New years dream is to retire but can't see it somehow. I feel so old at times and struggle with the heavy workload and this never ending miserable sciatica!
I may just disappear and live on a narrowboat and be a continual cruiser and get away from it all or in reality I'll still be working in GP land
Still it's fun searching for that elusive badge and enjoy everybody else's badges I really must find time to get some more photos uploaded, finish knitting a jumper and read a good book
Thats me for now - off to walk Rosie for one last toilet visit Its almost a full moon and the sky is clear so I'll be walking looking up towards the cosmos because thats so beautiful and then you realise how wonderful life is x

[wilfb]

Hi Sue,

We are in the middle of a full blown storm. Lightening and finding lights!!

Narrowboat eh?  Wonder what Sotiris will make of that?!

Must go, my APC is working overtime to keep me connected.

Very Best,
Will.