The more observant of you—the more observant of you who are not reading this via an RSS reader at least—might have noticed that the banner across the top of the page has changed from a tasteful orange colour to a rather dramatic red. At the same time, the text has changed from black to white.
Why have I made this change? Well, exactly the same red and white colour scheme will soon be adorning my new study. The shelves, windows, skirting board and ceiling will be white, and the walls red. This exact red, in fact. For some reason, the paint manufacturer has chosen to call it incarnadine. It's a disappointing name, compared with those of some of the other reds I was tempted by: blazer, dragon's blood, volcanic splash, and something I can't remember with the word passion in the title. Even rectory red has more of a ring to it than incardanine. Didn't he star in Kung Fu in the 1970s?
Unfortunately, incarnadine turns out to be a rather specialist (for which, read expensive) paint, so the shop didn't have enough. They've had to order some more.
The new study, once it has a desk and computer will become the official new Gruts Central. So I thought I might as well change the colour scheme at the top of the page to be a bit more corporate.
I don't know how long it will last.
That means that both of us are going to need dark glasses.
How can you complain about such a rich name for your paint colour? You underestimate your paint supplier's imagination:
"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?
No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red"
Macbeth, Act II Scene II
Strong stuff!
Oh, great! I've chosen a colour associated with murderers.
In fact, this rather useful analysis of the word incarnadine explains how it has the same fleshy Latin root as carnal and carnivorous. And chilli con carne, no doubt.
I guess I can live with that.
Strangely, this is almost exactly the colour we painted the kitchen of our old house some years ago - we simply couldn't find a colour we liked and so, not having a loyalty card at the expensive paint shop at the time, just mixed our own. Can't remember now what colours went into it but we ended up with a massive 10-litre tub for no more than Hombase usually charge. We also used white against it. Looked really nice up too.