Browsing the Bookshelves

I had good intentions today. Lots of them. Among the flood, was a determination to post a blog entry about the few days I have just spent in Copeland, Cumbria, staying at the delightful and very welcoming Muncaster Castle.  But like so many of my good intentions, it stayed just that. And I won't get it done tomorrow either, as I'm absconding for the day to visit Blenheim Palace.  I'm feeling very smug about the visit to Blenheim: not only have I managed to find the guide book we purchase on our last visit but by happy coincidence we have also chosen the week when Blenheim is hosting horse trials. Pure heaven - horses and heritage!  The books will have to wait for another day.

Those adverts that appear at the side of my blog really annoy me.  I didn't choose to put them there, that's something that BlogHi, the host, is responsible for.  Adverts creeping onto inappropriate pages on the net annoy me in general but this particular instance I find gauling for two reasons in particular.  First, much of my blog is about books. That's not surprising - I run a second hand bookshop here in South London, and I'm a bibliophile in general.  But because much of my blog is about books, someone, somewhere, has judged that it is best to advertise book shops and other book-related sites on my blog - so the adverts are promoting my direct competitors.  That's just crass.

The second reason it annoys me is because when I signed up here, there was no suggestion of serving adverts on my pages. Nor was there any attempt to inform or consult bloghi bloggers before the scheme was introduced. That is deception and sneaky and rude.

So, ok, I'm using a free blog site and perhaps I'm getting what I pay for - ie virtual peanuts for a corrupted service.  The upshot, however, is that Im beginning to think that it's about time to find a new blog hoster.  Any one who has some good ideas or hot tips on blog hosting, I'd be delighted to hear from you.  I don't mind paying a reasonable amount, and I would like to be able to transfer my existing blog automatically.