I hope you like the new look I’ve given Beautiful Railway Bridge. Not actually a different theme, but a different header and background, plus the short back and sides I gave the sidebar. The header shows the Railway Bridge of the Silvery Tay looking particularly Beautiful. This is the second bridge over the Tay, the first one blowing down in a storm on “the last Sabbath day of 1879.” William McGonagall – my Muse and Spirit Guide – saw both being built, and wrote about both, most notably in The Tay Bridge Disaster. Here is Billy Connolly reading it in a blizzard on Dundee Law.
The background is one of the Great Man’s manuscripts, appropriately enough, Bonnie Dundee. Beautiful penmanship! This background feels absolutely right and fits beautifully both with the header and McGonagall’s founding influence on this blog. My only qualm is that Mcgonagall’s words might be a visual distraction from reading the words in the posts. I wanted the images to be more prominent, but not detract from the words.
Please let me know what you think. Thanks.
I like it! I’ve always loved handwriting as a graphic element. The background image is a bit low-res and the writing bitmapped, but it doesn’t really matter. I agree it feels right. To address your concerns about the posts standing out, you could add a tint of sepia to the background. Or not
What happened! The background changed again! Are you still experimenting?
It’s now back to the original gif file you first commented on. I was trying to darken the background, but I had to change it to a jpg for that, and when I do the image zooms in. Just about to reduce the dimensions of the jpg to match the gif, then google a sepia background. Thanks for your advice. It’s good to talk to someone who knows about this stuff.
Right, done fiddling, and it’s the same as when you first commented. I’ll let it sink in.
Love the header, but I’m not getting much of the handwriting – this may be something v odd about my pc(!)….
Might have to rethink the background. The file is a bit low res, but the idea is that it should be decorative rather than a distraction from the text. So if you’re reading it, or if the quality prompts you to try to make out the words…Seems like McGonagall is still hogging the limelight as he so loved to do.
I’m sorry, Margaret. In my blathering I forgot to say that the handwriting is perfectly readable, if a little low res, on this MacBook.
Oh no! I preferred the other one, where the script was much bigger. I think this is too busy. Can’t you re-scan the writing to a higher resolution, and then enlarge it? (Hope you don’t mind my comments. I can’t help it.)
I’ll take another run at it. I keep flip-flopping and stopped only because it was getting a bit obsessive. I think you’re right about the busyness – it’s competing against the text.
I did ask for comments and I’m happy you’re taking me at my word.
That’s not bad. Listen, nuff already. I’ll shut up now. Obsessive is my middle name.