Help required
Just a short piece today.
I’m looking for a drop of help. For those of you who shamefully missed yesterday’s brain fart I will repeat a comment left there. It’ll save turning back the page.
Dear Grand-dad. HELP!
Sorry for this unorthodox contact.
Each day your blog is first on my list. Further later visits currently usually fail. I get a message.
“There has been a critical error on this website. Learn more about trouble shooting Word Press”
I have looked at “Learn more” and cannot understand a word of it. It looks like advice for a programmer.
I suspected my Firefox. so went to Chrome,Same message . I checked my smartphone -Android G5-same result.
I think reference to “this website” means your website. Not my PC or browser and so on.
Once again-sorry. I am totally stumped.Thank you and many thanks for your Blog.
Is it just me?
Hokay. Here goes..
Sorry for this unorthodox contact. No problem. It’s orthodox enough.
Each day your blog is first on my list.. Well now, this goes to prove that philately will get you anywhere.
That critical error is a bugger as it tells me little. I have spent the morning running tests but I can only really test the site itself rather than navigating between pages. All the tests I have tried are coming back saying the site loads in under three seconds [which is my little gold standard].
Having said that, I have my own little problem. When it comes to doing anything under the bonnet the site grinds to a standstill. Tell it I want a New Post and I have time to make a mug of tea before the page loads. Tell it to list my plugins and I have time to cook dinner. That’s when it’s not throwing up an error. But that is just my little area and that shouldn’t affect anyone else.
I spent this morning trying various tweaks and I have no idea what effects they’ll have so this is where I am looking for some help from you lot, Dear Readers.
Is the site slow? Is anyone else having problems? Just left me know in a comment with your location [country or planet is sufficient – I don’t want private addresses], and whether you use a PC/laptop, tablet or smartphone, along with a rough estimate of the time taken.
I’ll leave you to it.
I have to go and celebrate a wedding anniversary.
47 years.
I deserve a fucking medal..
Fast enough that I don’t notice how long it takes.
Essex, UK
PC
Site works fine. I use a tablet in Somerset. You’re welcome
PS comment was slow to load.
Works fine here in middle England. Load time usually about 1 – 2 secs. Occasionally delays a few secs longer but I think that’s our local broadband. Never had a technical error message.
I also sometimes (often) get a critical error. I use Opera. Cheers, Mark
Site works fine for me using Windows and MS Edge. Between 1 and 2 seconds to load.
47 years!!! That’s seven and a half broken mirrors. 😉 Congratulations, pick up your long service and good conduct medal on your way out.
The site loads fine, a couple of seconds. Ubuntu and Firefox.
A fucking medal? Modest, aren’t we.
Now that is an Olympic sport I might just watch. Not really.
Presumably the first to finish is not the winner.
But congratulations to you and your long suffering spouse.
Lang may yer lum reek.
No probs on Win7/firefox in Hants.
Happy anniversary – hope you’re saving up for the big one!
Usually opens instantly, or as near dammit. Using Brave browser with “Shield” I am across the water on Anglesey.
I have been getting this error for the past month. I use a Nokia Android phone with Chrome. My information is that an anti-spam plugin is to blame. Said plugin can’t be removed. If there is an update or new post it may not load but if you haven’t made one it seems to be OK. Trying to access to the comments is the most likely to cause this error. Hope this helps.
I get the error if i link to the latest story from the MS site, normally its fine if I go to your site first.
Yesterday I was told your site wasnt safe.
Today everything seems fine
Chrome on Android
Loads fast and true on my eight year old laptop using Ubuntu and Firefox here on the Lincs coast. Never has a problem.
Christchurch,Dorset-loads smoothly in under 3 secs.
Running standard desk pc on W10.
Love your blogs Grandpa-enjoy your anniversary-keep off the Irish pixie juice!
I had the problem a week or so ago on an Android phone but initially only with Comments, then with all the site. Just checked it and now working perfectly
I live on the south coast of England near Portsmouth. Your site comes up almost instantly, I’m using Brave with Shield in Win 10.
Tried to comment. When it came to post the comment I got “Access denied” and :-
“You have been blocked from entering information on this site. In order to prevent this from happening in the future, complete the request below to have the admin add your IP to a list that allows you full access.”
I’m using a VPN, is this the cause?
UPDATE
My post above did not get past this barrier. Even odder, 3 hours later I go an e-mail from WordPress “clearing” me to land on Head Rambles!!
WTF??
Possibly the VPN was confusing things, thouh sometimes I use a VPN and things still work. The sudden change of heart was me – I noticed a bank of emails saying you were trying to get in so I told it not to be silly and to behave itself.
Loads fast enough for me. Laptop, MS Edge, West Coast USA.
Its so fast it loads 12hours faster than the UK and Ireland.
I do have good connections here in NZ
Forgot to mention Windows 10
An afterthought.
It could be that you have finally managed to thoroughly piss off the Russians.
And congratulations on those 47 years!
The Russians generally ignore me. On the other hand, the Chinese seem to be impressed? They account for nearly a fifth of all visits over the last month and are consistently second to the UK in the ratings. Make of that what you will…..
London. Android Mobile. A second or two. Rarely have any issues loading or with links. Medal, or get out of gaol free card?
For the last 3 or 4 days I was getting 20 to 40 second load times, but today virtually instant.
That’s from Portsmouth, on android tab, dolphin browser.
Waves to Stephen Brown, howdy neighbour!
Fine in New Zealand with Firefox and Wndows 10. 47,you’ve only just started, 54 and counting.
Working well via Opera, Firefox and Chrome running on Windows 10. 47 years? You don’t get that for multiple murder.
I get the error more often that not accessing the site using Samsung phone running android 9 and using Brave. That being said, I haven’t encountered the error today.
Never got the error using my PC (Ubuntu 20.04, Brave browser)
Location Dublin
No errors here in South Somerset. 10 year old desktop but on Wessex Internet full-fibre. Linux Mint, Firefox
Thanks everyone [and welcome to all the first-timers. I didn’t expect so many responses.
The general consensus seems to be that the site is fast [within my 3 second self imposed limit]. There seems to be a possibility [how vague can one get?] that part of the problem lies with the spam filters and part with Android.
I had three spam filters – I actually didn’t realise they were all there – and have disabled two of them. The remaining one seems to be doing the job anyway, unless no one is bothering to spam me these days?
The Android thing may be due to another plugin which is supposed to dish up the site in a more smart-phone friendly manner. I’ll work on that.
Again, thank you one and all.
All is good here in Pennsylvania, US. Site is quick, no problems
Very slow today. It took well over 10 seconds as opposed to about 2 seconds the other day. I started counting seconds after 3 or 4 seconds when I noticed it didn’t open immediately so probably about 14 or 15 seconds.
It was also very slow when I clicked “leave a reply”. It said it was waiting for something like region1.google.analytics. I opened the site in another tab and it was pretty much instantaneous. “Leave a reply” was also pretty quick. Firefox on Ubuntu. I tried Google Chrome which I’ve never used for your site before and it was pretty much instantaneous.
I guess Firefox needed to load the Google bits the first time but remembered the second time, whereas Google Chrome is optimised for Google analytics. Does that make sense?
Thanks for that FrankH. You have confirmed one of my suspicions, that Google is slowing things down. I have been using Google Analytics since I launched the site way back when. But Google are messing around with it this year changing everything around and fucking up historical data, so I took the plunge and disconnected all the Analytics code. Whether that helps or not, we can only wait and see.