I am in two minds about the ampersand, they are incredibly beautiful, curvy, interesting, and can feature alone, but on the other hand, they are a quite a lazy character. They rip the letters A N D off and they are often used at inappropriate moments. It’s the & of the headline and not the and of the story.
If you don’t take the metaphor too far, you could say that this blog has progressed (or degressed) from:
All Said and Done
to
All Said & Done
The blog might have grown up or at very least aged, but it has certainly gotten more lazy, it is less about the story. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but more reflective of how All Said & Done fits into my life as opposed to a few years ago.
Aside:
I do quite like the ampersand. And the one sitting on my desk makes me quite happy as it really does serve no purpose whatsoever.