Fans of British Writers discussion

I'd like to create a group logo, to replace the question mark! Ideally, I think it would be good to use a picture associated with England or Britain in general (rather than, say, a picture of one writer, like Dickens --that might give the impression we're limited to that writer). Maybe one of Big Ben, or of London bridge, would fit the bill? (Two other groups already use the Union Jack.) Does anybody have any ideas, or a picture he/she can send electronically?

Good idea Weerner

A pic of one of the Brontes or Austen, or George Eliot would be nice

I meant to go find a picture of Shakespeare or The Globe Theater. Can you tell that I'm thinking about the biography I'm reading?

I like the idea of London Bridge or even a British coat of arms. (or a moor covered in heather would be great IMO) LeAnn I just finished Will in the World and learned so much about Shakespeare. There is another book on him waiting for me at the library when I can get there.

Alice

A British coat of arms would be good, Alice! I'm looking, preferably, for something general like that, which could apply to all British writers, not just one of them. (A moor covered with heather could be a possibility, too --but would most Goodreaders recognize a heather plant if they saw it, and identify it as British? What about one of those quintessentially British Tudor cottages?)

A Tudor cottage would be great. You are right about the heather as most wouldn't know what it was. I will google for a coat of arms and see what I can find. I also wonder if Framlingham castle would work? If I see a good picture of it will email it to you so you can check it out to see what you think.

Sounds good, Alice! I think any British castle would work --espcially a well-known and easily recognized one like Windsor Castle, but probably any of them will fit the bill. I'll try out any possible logo I get (so far, I don't actually have any digitized pictures in hand) that looks promising, and give you all a chance to look it over and comment before we decide on it.

Emailed you 3 coats of arms so now will look for castles. I like to have several pictures on NL and switch them around from time to time. There is a place to store them here.

Alice, thanks for all your help with this! You can hold off on this for awhile; I've just uploaded one of the coats of arms on a trial basis. What do the rest of you folks think of it?

I just realized I could upload directly here. I thought only moderators could do that. You can shuffle them around as you like. They are also easily deleted.

Hmmmmm! According to the page that came up when I clicked on the question mark (in order to post the coat of arms that's up now), the fine print said that only moderators can edit that page. Where on "here" did you upload your other pictures, Alice?

Werner wrote: "Hmmmmm! According to the page that came up when I clicked on the question mark (in order to post the coat of arms that's up now), the fine print said that only moderators can edit that page. Wher..."

Not sure but will search. ...They are under photos and I am trying to delete with no success yet.

Did you upload them to your Goodreads profile? I know there is a way to do that, and I'm interested in finding out how (one of my Goodreads friends recently asked about photos of Australia, and I thought that would be a good way to share them). If you can recall how you did it, let me know!

In the group list of discussions, home, etc I clicked on photos, then I went from there! I guess anyone can upload there as I sure did it. But I can't seem to delete what I uploaded.

Okay, Alice, I found them! (If that "photos" link had been a snake, it would have bit me; I never paid any attention to it before now. :-)) Don't worry about deleting any of those. They're all good, attractive British-related photos that other people might enjoy looking at sometimes; and they're not doing a bit of harm right where they are. Thanks for all your work on this!

I have the same all the time. Victor and I laugh about it as we look right at something and do not see it. I didn't realize at first that I could even upload photos here. What a surprise.

It wasn't much work, just luck. Glad I could help.
Alice

Alice wrote: "I like the idea of London Bridge or even a British coat of arms. (or a moor covered in heather would be great IMO) LeAnn I just finished Will in the World and learned so much about Shakespeare. ..."

Alice, thanks for the recommendation. If I can finish this biography, I'll check into it. Who is the author?

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became ShakespeareStephen Greenblatt

Hi LeAnn, I can remember Greenblatt but I always have to look up his first name for some reason. I just finished it about a week ago too! Our Colorado Springs library system had a new copy.

Alice wrote: "Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became ShakespeareStephen Greenblatt

Hi LeAnn, I can remember Greenblatt but I always have to look up his first name for some reason. I just fi..."

Thanks, Alice. I tried searching GoodReads on the title and didn't get it (at least not in the top hits).

how about a painting from JWW Turner or John Constable (The Hay Wain)

this coat of arms is also very attractive

http://www.bryanrawlings.com/pics/5ft...

Rick wrote: "this coat of arms is also very attractive

http://www.bryanrawlings.com/pics/5ft..."

Nice coat-of-arms, Rick!

Thanks for those suggestions, Rick! Both Turner and Constable were noted for painting a lot of scenes of the English countryside. The problem with any of them as a logo, though, is that countryside landscapes often aren't obviously identifiable as to what country they represent, unless they have some easily recognized feature (like a windmill in a Dutch landscape). That coat of arms is sure a neat one, though!

I'll try to post a poll tomorrow, with both this coat of arms and the present trial logo as options, the Windsor Castle picture (in our group's Pictures section) as another, and an option for "None of the above." Does anybody else have a specific option he/ she would strongly like to see on this poll?

Someone here recommended it to me but I cannot recall who it was. I may have even found it on Listopia since I frequent that lots. Too much in fact.

Rick wrote: "this coat of arms is also very attractive

http://www.bryanrawlings.com/pics/5ft..."

The poor lion he looks like a gargoyle I saw in Munchen. I do like gargoyle's tho. I would like to have one for my house.

If we use a gargoyle do we also need a "garboy"?

:)

Mike wrote: "If we use a gargoyle do we also need a "garboy"?

:)" LOL! no idea,....you will have to tell me what a garboy is? Is it like a poolboy?

Well, I mean how would we get more "gar_" anythings if we don't have both gargoyles and garboys?
;) lol

The poll is about halfway through its active life, and so far, five people have voted on it. The two coats of arms listed as options are tied for the lead, with two votes each. I haven't voted, and won't unless I have to break a tie, because I don't have a strong preference; I like all three choices (and the other ones in our group "pictures" folder, too). But if you have a real preference, you have until midnight Sunday to cast your vote!

I love polls and so will vote again and again in any poll! I joined one group just bacause they have so many polls. Somehow its fun for me!

Alice

Voting on the poll ended yesterday, and the results are inconclusive. Nobody voted for "none of the above," so the three possibilities listed were evidently tolerable for everybody! The Windsor Castle picture got one vote, and the two coats of arms tied for top place with three votes each. Unfortunately, I got sidetracked and didn't remember to vote in time to break the tie. (Or perhaps that's fortunate, since I didn't have a strong preference. :-))

Without a single clear winner, the question becomes: what to do? A run-off poll is one possibility, and I can set one up if anybody wants one. But since less than half the membership voted, I'm assuming that most of us don't like polls as much as Alice does, and might greet the announcement of another one with a collective groan. :-) (Goodreads' polls software won't let me edit this one anymore to extend its life --I can't do that after a poll has ended.) The other possibility would be to just let the existing logo stand, if no one violently dislikes it. I'd lean to that option --not just because I'm lazy, but because it's colorful and pretty, and some people may have gotten used to it. But I'm prepared to be happy with anything except that question mark; and I believe in running a democratic benevolent despotism! :-) So, if anybody else has a different suggestion, go ahead and speak up --it WILL be taken to heart!

Whatever you decide is fine with me. Back to the neverending quiz! ;-)

I'm cool with a run off if you like. I haven't gotten involved in a lot new discussions lately, but (hopefully) will hit a few new threads soon. I think discussions and their threads tend to run in spurts. When discussion picks up I think participation will also.

Okay --as per Mike's suggestion, I've just set up a run-off poll, to decide between the logo that's up now, or the lion-and-unicorn one. It'll be up for two weeks, and I've just sent out an invitation for you all to vote. If there's a tie this time, we'll go with the current logo (since it was there first :-)).

The lion/unicorn logo can be viewed at our "photos' link (it's currently the big one on the bottom). Rick's message 21 above also has a link to it.

it is nice I like it

Voting on the current poll ended today, and by a vote of 6 to 2, the lion-and-unicorn coat of arms is adopted as our logo! It's already in place (and looking great). Thanks to Rick for supplying it, and to all those who voted!