POST SCRIPT: I have left this page in its basic auto-converted state. It is negligible benefit and too much work to fully convert properly. Most of the text is legible, but some months are truncated.
THIS WAS THE BLOG AS AT THE END OF 2019.
This page is a "blog" of my progress in developing this site. If you are watching my progress, or want to see what has been added since you last visited, most of the details should be listed here (but I'm only aiming for the 'headlines', not every single change). If you have not read this blog before, the first entry at the bottom gives details about my starting point for this year and my hopes and intentions for the future.
Date
Start of this year's Blog - January 2019
01/01/2019
See the subpage for what I did in 2018 - as ever, lots of progress but still so much to do. There were unexpectedly large contributions to Australia, Switzerland and USA that took up much of the year, but most countries have been maintained. The continual exception is Germany, where there remain many thousands more to add, and I'm never sure when I can find the time to do so. I will always have some recent acquisitions for all countries still to add, but I also still have many more USA mats to add, especially for Anheuser Busch, Coors and Miller.
I can no longer find the time to maintain separate pages for non-brewery mats, so I have begun the process of adding a column to my Collection pages to indicate whether I have a spare or not. This will take a long time to complete, and initially some of the converted pages may be lacking in some spares I may still have tucked away in boxes somewhere, but eventually I will be able to add many more spares and do so much quicker. However, I will still maintain the brewery spares pages as before.
My "Other Mats" section is more established, with the both the Pubs and Transport categories completed in 2018. I have now started the Media category. This section is always low priority but I am keen to try and complete it, as I have many, many thousands of unsorted mats. I am likely to try and add the mats I have already sorted so that the pages are in place, but with the bulk of the collection to follow later. Once the pages are created and linked subsequent updates will be easier and quicker, and I can process sections or sub-sections without having to try and update everything at once.
In my Wanted section the UK section is as up to date as I can expect (it will always be a few months 'in arrears'). The intended 'Name Finder' section has been delayed again. I think the only way I can do this is to start adding brand new references as I add any new mats in 2019, but leave the existing references until later, probably much later, with some piecemeal progress if I have cause to update existing pages.
Brewery spares are still being updated, though perhaps not as regularly as before. I still have many thousands to add, especially for the UK and Germany. I am now more likely to add in intensive bursts, then a long gap before the next update. However, as always, if you want any specific beermats, please let me know what you are interested in and I will do my best to help you.
Of course, there are constantly new additions that mean I need to update breweries or sections previously considered 'complete'. I will tend to do these in batches, which means some may be held at the back of the queue, so if you have sent me a beermat recently, there may be a delay before I can add it to my site.