An Explanation of Design

As promised, my second posting will offer an explanation of the design I have adopted for the header of this blog.

The first element is the photograph, which I took with my handy Nokia E65 mobile phone at Garden Island, Western Australia. Nothing too professional, but it works. I photoshop'd it only by stretching it to the required dimensions and then layering the text. The original photo is here:

This photo is one of three favourites that I captured that evening. I may write about the reasons for that in a later posting, but it is all about the importance of friendship.

On the top right of the header, my initials (cdm) are printed in Celtic script with my name underneath. I have traced much of my genealogy and the Gaelic/Celtic/Norse connections are strong. This is particularly evidenced by my roots back in the Shetland Islands situated between Scotland and the Arctic.

One of the native languages of Shetland, and it's sister the Orkneys, is Norn, a language almost lost to time. The phrase at the base of the header is written in Norn and translates to be:

Dark is in [the] chimney, light still in [the] heather, the time is [right that] the guest is gone

I loved the phrase when I saw it, as it speaks highly of the importance of hospitality and home in balance with the natural course of time. It was perfectly matched for the feelings I had when taking the photograph and the happenings of that time.

A little piece of serendipity, I dare say.