BrontëBlog is four years old

*** THE CONTEST IS CLOSED ***

BrontëBlog turns 4 today, September 10, as some of you may have gathered by these last few days' countdown on the sidebar. We didn't choose this week's weekly quote at random:

"My first aim will be to clean down (do you comprehend the full force of the expression?) -- to clean down Moor House from chamber to cellar; my next to rub it up with bees-wax, oil, and an indefinite number of cloths, till it glitters again; my third, to arrange every chair, table, bed, carpet, with mathematical precision; afterwards I shall go near to ruin you in coals and peat to keep up good fires in every room; and lastly, the two days preceding that on which your sisters are expected will be devoted by Hannah and me to such a beating of eggs, sorting of currants, grating of spices, compounding of Christmas cakes, chopping up of materials for mince-pies, and solemnising of other culinary rites, as words can convey but an inadequate notion of to the uninitiated like you. My purpose, in short, is to have all things in an absolutely perfect state of readiness for Diana and Mary before next Thursday; and my ambition is to give them a beau-ideal of a welcome when they come."
~ Jane Eyre (ch. XXXIV), by Charlotte Brontë

As Jane says, we have been

- cleaning down 'from chamber to cellar', that is, considering what we need to have visible on the blog, particularly the sidebar, which includes new and forthcoming releases, TV alerts and Brontës searches all over the best sites, as well as feeds from other Brontë-related blogs and links to other lovely and interesting websites,

- rubbing it up 'with bees-wax, oil, and an indefinite number of cloths, till it glitters again', making all these visible, important things more visible, attractive and easier to read,

- and arranging 'every chair, table, bed, carpet, with mathematical precision' so that the blog is readable and comfortable for those of you who pay us visits.

Resulting, in short, in a new - and hopefully better- template, with particular changes on the sidebar which we hope is more clear and a bit de-cluttered now. Needless to say, any sort of feedback (positive or negative) is totally welcome, either in comments (and aren't they inviting with that inspiring Brontë portable desk?) or by our usual email, which can be seen at the top of the sidebar.

And what about Jane's last resolution? 'Such a beating of eggs, sorting of currants, grating of spices, compounding of Christmas cakes, chopping up of materials for mince-pies, and solemnising of other culinary rites'. As we are not sure our 'culinary rites' are quite up to Jane's we have decided on something a bit more appropriate.

Thanks to ITV and Penguin we are giving away the following, all very Wuthering Heights-y:

• A copy of a Region 2 DVD of Wuthering Heights 2009 and a copy of the Penguin Classics DeLuxe edition of the novel with a cover by Ruben Toledo.
• A copy of a Region 2 DVD of Wuthering Heights 2009.
• And a copy of the edition of Penguin Classics DeLuxe edition of Wuthering Heights with a cover by Ruben Toledo

Thus we will have three lucky winners for our fourth blog-anniversary. You only have to tell us...

The best/most interesting/weirdest/most amazing/funniest/saddest/most memorable thing you have read on BrontëBlog during these four years.

The answer must be sent to our e-mail address: bronteblog (AT) gmail (DOT) com (read that aloud if that doesn't look like an e-mail address to you). Answers will be accepted until September 20 (12 am CET). Winners will be notified by e-mail on the ensuing days. We will accept ONE ANSWER ONLY per participant.

Good luck and thanks - thanks so very much - for reading our blog!

Categories: Messages from BB