Decided to do a bit of tinkering this evening, as a few people had commented that the site was a little slow to load - especially on 256k ‘broadband’ connections (sorry, I don’t regard 256k as broadband regardless of what Telstra try and tell us!).

So, after optimising the images, compressing some of the javascript code (techy stuff that displays various bits of the site) and removing a few unnecessary features - like local links, I’ll put them on a separate page soon - I managed to improve things a lot. The home page should load on a 256k connection (from fresh ie: never visited the site before, subsequent visits take a lot less) in around 15 seconds. Much improved from the 25-30 seconds previously.

Unfortunately - in the process, Internet Exploder 7 now gives a message saying ‘Done but with errors on the page’. Still loads fine and no other browsers are complaining (I’ve tested Firefox, Opera and Chrome) at all, so I can’t be bothered trying to satisfy Microsoft’s rigorous (and probably incorrect) page testing! Edit 1 April: Problem now fixed.

Let me know if you are having any problems viewing the site - and please give me some feedback if you are getting faster responses on the site.

Jim Webster has very kindly become a website contributor and has recently completed his first fishing club news article. Great article and he’s done very well with the photos too. Welcome aboard Jim!

Now we just need a few more locals with a bit of spare time on their hands every now and then to add their club newsletter or just tell the community what they are up to.

Shoalhaven Heads has a fair number of clubs and groups and I’m sure - in this modern age with most people having a computer - this is an ideal way to quickly get their news across.