Cookies (the internet kind)

Being of British extraction, we prefer biscuits.

Michele Debczak explains the term biscuit comes from the terms bis and coquere meaning twice baked; they’re generally from stiff dough, cooked into a plain, crunchy thing perfect for dunking in cups of tea.

Cookies, on the other hand, come from the Dutch koekje for little cake; they’re gerally made with a softer dough and extra flavourings like nuts, chocolate chips, and dried fruits, that produce a chewy treat.

Just to confuse matters further, in the US, “biscuits” are a kind of bread roll, similar to what we would call a scone.

According to short-fact, the internet “cookie” term was coined by programmer Lou Montulli. It comes from “magic cookie,” being a small packet of data a program (e.g., your browser) stores on your hard drive.

And like most websites, we use cookies to improve your experience on our site; for record-keeping or to track information about you.

This Cookie Policy explains why we use them, and how to disable them.

The Cookies We Set

Our site offers email subscription services, and cookies remember whether you’ve already registered.

When you send data in a contact or comment form, cookies remember your user details for future correspondence.

In some cases, we also use trusted third-party cookies:

• Google Analytics helps us understand how you use the site, and how we can improve it. These cookies track things like how long you spend on the site and which pages you visit so we can produce more of the stuff you’re looking for. Here’s their official Google Analytics Cookie Usage on Websites page.
• We constantly try new features and change the site delivery. We use cookies to make sure that you receive a consistent experience on the site, and we understand which changes you like the most.
• If you use the social media buttons on our site, the social media sites (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest) set cookies which are used to enhance your profile on their site or save to the data they hold as outlined in their respective privacy policies.

Disabling  Cookies

To change the way cookies are dealt with, you must change your browser settings. You can stop, approve/deny, or receive notification as they come in. Your browser’s Help page will explain how.

Sadly, industry standards don’t exist for disabling cookies. This means disabling cookies generally disables the functionality and features they add to a site.

So, we recommend you leave them on if you’re not sure whether you need them or not – just in case they provide a service you do use.

If you’d like more information

get in touch