5 More ‘Questionable’ Photos That Allow You to Say Who You Are

I want to thank everyone who engaged with me (and other bloggers) on my previous photography post. If you missed it, ‘5 ‘Questionable’ Photos That Give You The Chance To Say Who You Are‘ was slightly different from my first photography post in this series, as it asked you questions based on the photos.

I had fun with it! I hope you did.

This month, I’m showcasing five photographs (all of which feature me), so all were taken by somebody else. I am also highlighting another WordPress gallery block you can use to display your photos.

Feel free to leave a comment or write your own post with your responses. If you decide to create a post, you’re welcome to link back to mine so other bloggers can join the discussion.

1. What is the oldest photo in your photo collection?

Photo taken 23rd February 2006

2006 must have been the year I started an online photo library. I do recall the event when this photo was taken, which was a staggering 20 years ago! Doesn’t time fly?

The photo was taken at my ‘Sten’ party. What’s a ‘Sten’ party? It’s similar to a stag or hen night, but it’s for both men and women. This was a gathering organised by my work colleagues, a few days before my partner and I had our civil partnership.

Civil partnerships for same-sex couples became law in the UK when the Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force on the 5th December 2005. Elton John and his partner, David Furnish, were among the first to have a Civil Partnership in the UK.

The first couples were able to formally register their partnerships in Northern Ireland on 19 December 2005, followed by the rest of the UK on 21 December 2005. 

Do I remember anything from that night apart from having various slogans pinned to my T-shirt? Yes, quite a lot, but far too much to publish here. I could probably produce a mini-series for Netflix about what happened that evening, but that would only mean a second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth season.

2. Are you a tourist or a stay-at-home type of person?

What happened to the door?

This photo captures the moment a medieval ruin briefly considered becoming a holiday cottage before immediately changing its mind. The stone walls whisper stories of sieges, monks, and mysterious drafts, while I, casually leaning against it, wonder, “Yes, but does it get Wi-Fi?” The contrast is striking: centuries of hardship versus sandals that have clearly never known true suffering. No, I don’t wear sandals like that anymore, and I’ve never worn socks with them!

I love history, but there’s also something heroic about that pose. One foot crossed, arms relaxed, expression calmly confident—like a travel brochure model for Accidental Time Travel Monthly. Can you imagine ‘Time Travel’ holidays? Something for the not-too-distant future, perhaps? You half-expect a guide to announce to the other tourists, “And here we see the rare British Tourist in its natural habitat, pausing to rest after conquering a mildly uneven cobblestone.”

My favourite part of this old building is the doorway beside me, which perfectly frames the scene: step through it, and you’re in the 14th century; step back out, and you’re searching for a café, gift shop and the nearest toilets! It’s a vivid reminder that while history may be ancient and awe-inspiring, it still serves as a perfect backdrop for a relaxed lean and a very modern sense of comfort.

3. What’s your most memorable moment of the 21st century?

What were you doing in 2012?

With the Winter Olympic Games underway at the time of publishing this post, I am privileged to have attended the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

The Olympic Park entrance looms behind me as the crowd shuffles forward with the quiet determination of people who’ve accepted they will queue, and they will like it. Yes, we British do seem to enjoy queuing a lot!

That smile says, “I’ve beaten the queues, the weather, and possibly public transport.” The Adidas shirt is doing some serious international diplomacy—it’s covered in flags, symbolising unity and global harmony, all before the first race. It’s the kind of outfit that silently reassures everyone nearby that yes, this is a special day and nobody should be grumpy.

Meanwhile, my background extras are showing peak Olympic spectator behaviour: backpacks adjusted for the 400th time, sunglasses on despite the sun’s best efforts being “meh,” and that universal look of someone thinking, “Did I bring the tickets?” It’s a perfect snapshot of optimism, mild chaos, and the unmistakable feeling that something memorable is about to happen.

4. Which television show would you like to appear on?

Where are we?

Those of you who know me well know how much I love science fiction, especially anything related to time travel. So when I had the opportunity to star in an episode of ‘Doctor Who’ with my niece, I jumped at it.

I have no idea where we landed, but luckily, there were no signs of the Weeping Angels, Daleks, or Cybermen. Those of you with a keen eye will notice that half of my left foot is missing, which suggests this is an edited photo, though I had nothing to do with those edits.

This all happened in Cardiff, before the pandemic, when the ‘Doctor Who Experience’ arrived in town. My niece was quite upset by it all, as she scars easily and couldn’t wait to leave, while I was sad to have to say goodbye to the TARDIS.

If you ever hear that familiar whirring noise the TARDIS makes, you might be quite surprised when I step out of the blue police box.

5. Do you believe in aliens?

Have you found a cheese sandwich in there?

Talking of aliens, have you ever met any? Well, as you’ll see in the photo above, I have.

This is what happens when roadside art, aliens, and questionable life choices collide. One moment you’re minding your own business at the ‘Arizona Last Stop,’ the next you’re being casually abducted mid-nap by long-armed extraterrestrials with very flexible elbows.

My expression says, “I did not have this on today’s itinerary,” while the aliens look like they’re just checking the seatbelt before take-off. It’s less ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ and more Close Encounters of the Mildly Inconvenient Kind.

Honestly, if aliens are real, this feels exactly like how they’d introduce themselves to me—confusing, slightly rude, and searching me for proof that I’d eaten that last cheese sandwich.

The Cover Block

This month, I am displaying and featuring the ‘Cover’ block. Here’s one of my featured photos in the Cover block.

Doctor Who

The Day the TARDIS Was Stolen

By

Hugh W. Roberts

I’ve always dreamt of writing an episode of Doctor Who, so I came up with a title for the photo I have used.

The WordPress Cover block offers many possibilities. It’s a versatile, visually appealing block that lets users create engaging sections on their pages and posts. It serves as a powerful tool for showcasing images, photos or videos with overlay text, enabling content creators to combine striking visuals with compelling messages.

By using the Cover block, you can add an engaging background image or video that complements your content, while overlaying text to share information, tell a story, or boost your branding. This block is especially useful for creating call-to-action areas, or unique segment dividers that attract attention to key announcements or highlights on your blog.

With options such as text alignment, colour overlays, and the ability to adjust your background image’s focal point, the Cover block enhances your blog’s visual appeal and readability, making it an important component of effective storytelling and design in WordPress.

Click the following link for more information about the Cover block.

How to make a photographer’s day.

Next time you leave a comment on a photography post, instead of saying ‘Great photo,’ describe what about the picture made you think it was great. Was it the subject, the lighting, the scenery, the angle it was taken from, or the emotion it evoked when you saw it?

It only needs to be a few lines, but the people you leave the comment for will appreciate the feedback much more than when all you say, time after time, is that it’s a great photo.

Remember that one genuine, thoughtful comment once in a while is worth thousands of short, non-engaging comments that only prove you visited and that you don’t have the time.

What is the oldest photo in your photo collection, and what is it of? Are you a tourist or a stay-at-home type of person? What’s your most memorable moment of the 21st century? Which television show would you like to appear on? Do you believe in aliens?

The featured image in this blog post is taken from Pixabay. AI checked spelling and grammar mistakes.

You can follow me at the following sites.

Copyright @ 2026 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

#BlockEditor #Blocks #DoctorWho #Engagement #GalleryBlocks #HowTo #OlympicGames #Olympics #Photos #WordPressTips

Blogrolls: What Happens When Adding One To Your Blog

A blogroll is a curated list of links to other blogs or websites that a blogger recommends, follows, or finds interesting, which they can display on their blog. Usually shown in a blog or website’s sidebar, footer, menu bar, or dedicated page, it helps foster community, share resources, and help readers find related content. Essentially, it is a “roll” of recommended blogs. 

Unfortunately, WordPress deprecated the Links/Blogroll widget several years ago. However, users of the Block Editor can now access the ‘Blogroll’ block to display a list of recommended or followed blogs.

If, like me, your blog has a widget bar, you can show the blogroll there. If you don’t have a widget bar, you can display a blogroll on a page, post, or in the menubar of your blog.

In this post, I will show you how to create a blogroll in a widget bar and on a blog post or page. I’m using an iMac desktop computer for this.

How to add a blogroll to a widget bar.

  • On your blog’s dashboard, navigate to AppearanceWidgets and click the ‘+‘ symbol in the top right corner.
Click Appearance – Widgets
  • Find the Blogroll block by typing ‘Blogroll’ in the search bar. Click on the Blogroll block to add it to your widget bar.
Add the ‘Blogroll’ block

For some reason, when you add a Blogroll block, it automatically populates with several blogs, some of which you may not recognise. I found this quite odd, but it’s simple to remove any unwanted ones.

  • To delete a blog, select the blog you wish to remove, then click the three vertical dots (kebab menu) and choose Delete.
Deleting blogs from a Blogroll is easy
  • To add blogs, click on the ‘+‘ symbol and select from the list that appears or use the search bar to find the blogs you wish to add.
Add or search for the blogs you want to add to your blogroll.
  • To change the name of your blogroll, click next to ‘Blogroll‘ and add your own description.
Rename your blogroll
  • Click the Update button in the top right corner to publish the Blogroll in the widget bar.
  • Check your blog to ensure the Blogroll widget is visible. You can see the blogroll I created towards the bottom of the widget bar on the right side of my blog. It contains the blogs I read the most.

How to add a blog roll to a page or post.

  • Add the Blogroll block anywhere on a page or post.
  • To add or remove blogs from your blogroll list, follow the instructions above.

Remember that you can change the name of your blogroll. However, be aware that if your blogroll contains many blogs, it will take up a lot of space on the post or page.

You can also convert your blogroll into a reusable block, now called a Pattern, by clicking on the block, then selecting the three dots (kebab menu) and choosing ‘Create Pattern.’

Turn your blogroll into a reusable block

A reusable block on WordPress, now often called a Synced Pattern, is a feature that allows you to save a specific block or group of blocks for use across multiple posts or pages. This is particularly helpful for those selling items on their blog, such as books. For example, if a link to your books needs updating or the price changes, the updates are automatically reflected everywhere the block appears. Clever stuff!

To answer the question I raised in the title of this post, what happens when you add a blog roll to your site? Well, that’s straightforward. It means you promote the blogs you enjoy reading most. In doing so, you help foster a community and bring its members closer together. In turn, you’ll be supporting them in developing their blogs and community. What better way to say ‘thank you’ to those special people?

I’m looking forward to seeing your blogrolls as I’m looking for some new blogs to follow. If you have a blogroll on your blog, let me know.

Have you ever created a blogroll on your own blog? Which blogs or websites did you include? How do you think a blogroll can improve the reader’s experience on a blog? How often do you update your blogroll or the blogs you follow? Have you come across any new blogs from fellow bloggers’ blogrolls? If so, which ones?

The featured image on this blog post is sourced from Pixabay. AI reviewed spelling and grammar errors.

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

You can follow me at the following sites.

Copyright @ 2026 hughsviewsandnews.com – All rights reserved.

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

#BlockEditor #Blogging #BloggingAdvice #BloggingHelp #BloggingQuestions #BloggingTools #Blogroll #CommunityBuilding #HowTo #Widgets #WordPress

What is a blogroll, and what does it do?

My post explains what a blogroll is and how it can help promote the blogs you love the most.

#MondayBlogs #WordPress #BloggingTips #Blogrolls #HowTo #BlockEditor

http://hughsviewsandnews.com/2026/02/02/blogrolls-what-happens-when-adding-one-to-your-blog/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Blogrolls: What Happens When Adding One To Your Blog

What is a blogroll, and what does it do? My post explains what a blogroll is and how it can help promote the blogs you love the most.

Hugh's Views & News  

Individuelle Stileinstellungen für individuelle Elemente könnten so einfach sein: Den Selektor über die Block-Selector-API in der block.json definieren, für den die Stile aktiv sein sollen. Aber leider funktioniert das so nicht. Wenn du möchtest, dass der Stil bei einem individuellen Element innerhalb deines Blocks greift und nicht für den Block als Ganzes, musst du das manuell implementieren. Glücklicherweise hat Aki Hamanono das „Wie“ auf GitHub geteilt.

[…]

https://epiph.yt/blog/2026/block-editor-stileinstellung-fuer-individuelle-elemente/ #API #Block #BlockEditor #Einstellungen #Stil #WordPress
Block-Editor: Stileinstellung für individuelle Elemente | Epiphyt

Individuelle Stileinstellungen für individuelle Elemente könnten so einfach sein: Den Selektor über die Block-Selector-API in der definieren, für den die Stile aktiv sein sollen.

Epiphyt

Custom styling settings for custom elements could be so easy: use the block selector API to define the selector where the styles should apply and enable the applicable styles in the block.json. But unfortunately, it doesn’t work this way. If you need to apply styling to a custom element inside your block and not the surrounding element, you need to implement it manually. Luckily, Aki Hamano shared a how-to on GitHub.

[…]

https://epiph.yt/en/blog/2026/block-editor-apply-styling-settings-to-custom-elements/ #API #Block #BlockEditor #Settings #Styling #WordPress
Block editor: Apply styling settings to custom elements | Epiphyt

Custom styling settings for custom elements could be so easy: use the block selector API to define the selector where the styles should apply and enable the applicable styles in the .

Epiphyt
🎩✨ Ah, the age-old quest to reinvent the wheel because modern apps are just too darn slow, according to the tech prophets who believe in the gospel of #Qt #C++ and #QML. 🚀✨ Apparently, creating a cross-platform, "native-like" block editor from scratch is the only way to show those lazy web apps who's boss. 🙄💡
https://rubymamistvalove.com/block-editor #reinventthewheel #crossplatform #development #blockeditor #techtrends #HackerNews #ngated
Ruby Mamistvalove

Ruby Mamistvalove

Ich habe die wichtigen Gutenberg Block Sammlungen getestet.
Diese drei Gewinner solltest du am Schirm haben.
#gutenberg #wordpress #blockeditor
https://bloggerpilot.com/block-sammlungen/?utm_source=fb_page&utm_medium=bloggerpilot.com&utm_campaign=publer
Die besten Gutenberg Block Plugins für WordPress

Mit dem Block Editor ist WordPress endlich da angekommen, wo...

BloggerPilot
WordPress in 2026

Das WordPress-Core-Team hat zum Jahresausklang zwei lange Blogbeiträge mit einem Vorausblick auf das Jahr 2026 veröffentlicht.

Hier eine kleine Zusammenfassung der für Einsteiger wichtigsten Neuerungen.

https://einstieg-in-wp.de/wordpress-2026/ #BlockEditor #Release #Standardblöcke #WebsiteEditor #WordPressUpdates #WordPress