Cookie Policy

In common with many other website operators, we may use standard technology called ‘cookies’ on this website. A cookie is a small text file stored on your computer’s hard drive and which records your navigation of a website so that, when you revisit that website, it can present tailored options based on the information stored about your last visit. Cookies can also be used to analyse traffic and for advertising and marketing purposes.

Cookies We Use

Essential

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

NameDescriptionDuration
wpconsent_preferencesThis cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.30 days

Comments

These cookies are needed for adding comments on this website.

NameDescriptionDuration
comment_author_urlUsed to track the user across multiple sessions.Session
comment_authorUsed to track the user across multiple sessions.Session
comment_author_emailUsed to track the user across multiple sessions.Session

Statistics

Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.

Learn more
NameDescriptionDuration
_gac_Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.90 days
__utmaID used to identify users and sessions2 years after last activity
__utmtUsed to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests10 minutes
__utmbUsed to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.30 minutes after last activity
__utmcUsed only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.End of session (browser)
__utmzContains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server6 months after last activity
__utmvContains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.2 years after last activity
__utmxUsed to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.18 months
_gaID used to identify users2 years
_galiUsed by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked30 seconds
_ga_ID used to identify users2 years
_gidID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity24 hours
_gatUsed to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager1 minute

To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

 

How do I change my cookie settings?

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Click here to view or change your cookie preferences on this website.

If you don’t want to receive cookies, you can modify your browser so that it notifies you when cookies are sent to it or you can refuse cookies altogether. You can also delete cookies that have already been set.

If you wish to restrict or block web browser cookies which are set on your device then you can do this through your browser settings; the Help function within your browser should tell you how.

Alternatively, you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org, which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of desktop browsers.

We use Google Analytics to measure traffic on our website. Google has their own Privacy Policy which you can review here. If you’d like to opt out of tracking by Google Analytics, visit the Google Analytics opt-out page.

 

How do we use cookies?

We use cookies to track your use of our website. This enables us to understand how you use the site which helps us to develop and improve our website.

Functionality cookies – these cookies provide functionality that makes using our service more convenient and makes providing more personalised features possible.

Session cookies –  These cookies are required for you to be able to use some important features on our website, such as logging in. These cookies don’t collect any personal information. You can learn more about session cookies and what they are used for at http://www.allaboutcookies.org/cookies/session-cookies-used-for.html

Google analytics cookies – these cookies are used to track the use and performance of our website and services in order to improve the user experience. For example, they allow us to count visits, identify traffic sources and see which parts of the site are most popular. Your user data is all anonymous. You can find out more about Google’s position on privacy as regards its analytics service at http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/analytics/privacyoverview.html

 

Other information we collect

Leaving Comments on blog articles. When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Comment Cookies. If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

Comment Verification. Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

 

Embedded content from other websites

We use a number of external web services on this website, mostly to display content within our web pages e.g. Instagram and YouTube. Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

 

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