The look

Frances of Bookish asked about the rather lairy site design.  I quite like it, but it is very high-energy.  The main point of reference on this subject for me is public appearances from Jim Hacker from Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.  If you have some very upsetting change to announce, if you want to depart radically from the established way of things, you announce it with a background of many leatherbound books and an atmosphere of rich mahogony*.  If you have no initiatives, solutions or changes to offer, if you want to hide the fact that its more mealy mouthed wittering and more of the same reality by dictat of the civil service, you need a high energy yellow wallpaper, and synthesised intro music.

*little Anchorman there.