One major skill in journalism is devising an appropriate headline for any news report.
Down at Bristol’s Temple Way Ministry of Truth getting a headline to match the article occasionally seems to create difficulties! 🙂
About 5 minutes after the above screenshot was taken, the headline was amended.
Earlier this month, Staffordshire-based production team THE 7TH TOWN released its first feature length documentary called Oatcakes!
It’s a film about local pride and the people of the Potteries directed by Robert Burns and produced by Toby DeCann.
Local delicacy the Staffordshire oatcake (posts passim) features prominently in the film, as do the ales produced by Burslem’s Titanic Brewery (Edward Smith, captain of the ill-fated RMS Titanic, was born in Hanley. Ed.).
There are fine renditions of the local accent too, as well as lessons in Potteries history, heritage and culture.
It may be 1 hour and 45 minutes long, but if you have an interest in the food and/or people of the Potteries and North Staffordshire, it’s well worth watching.
Local papers around the country, including the Bristol Post, have reported that budget retailer Poundland has withdrawn Christmas cards containing a basic spelling error.
The cards themselves feature the words “Hark the Herald Angles“.
Furthermore, The Independent also reports that Poundland was also selling Christmas decorations spelling out either “Merry Shristmas” or “Merry Christmay“.
It is apparent that proof-reading costs far too much and would – if implemented – destroy Poundland’s profit margin on seasonal kitsch.
Incidentally, the Angles of East Anglia, in the shape of the Wuffingas dynasty, were instrumental in the establishment of Christianity in England. Rædwald (who was buried in the ship burial at Sutton Hoo) was the first East Anglian king to be baptised in 604. His descendant King Anna (or Onna), who reigned from c. 636 – 654 AD, had several of his offspring canonised as saints: his son Jurmin and all his daughters – Seaxburh, Æthelthryth, Æthelburh and possibly a fourth, Wihtburh.
What could have been a fine report on a local space technology story has been ruined by poor writing in the Bristol Post.
Yesterday’s Post carried a story on Bristol SpacePlanes and its efforts to develop a reusable orbital vehicle.
The Post’s journalist gets off to a bad start in the first sentence:
Bristolians are being invited to help launch planes into space in a new crowd-funding [sic] campaign.
Just Bristolians, Bristol Post?
I thought the idea of crowdfunding (minus the hyphen. Ed.), was that anyone can be part of the crowd that provides the funds, irrespective of geography.
This suspicion is borne out by 30 seconds research. The first item on crowdfunding I found, from Wikipedia, states: “Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, typically via the internet.”
Nowhere in the Wikipedia entry is there is indication at all that crowdfunding is to be restricted solely to Bristolians.
Or am I just misreading to local media’s propensity to find a local angle to a story? Here’s a hint: it already has one, featuring a local high technology company and doesn’t need a second one! 🙂
Yesterday’s Sentinel gave Potteries folk a chuckle at a seasonal typographical error in this story‘s headline, as shown in the screenshot below.
Let’s hope Santa’s name slims down enough by Christmas Eve so that he can once again slip down chimneys. 😉
Earlier this morning a delivery lorry for cake manufacturer Mr Kipling got stuck under the railway bridge on Stoke Road, Stoke-on-Trent, as shown below and as reported by The Sentinel.
Mr Kipling still uses the advertising slogan – as seen on the side of the trailer – “Exceedingly good…“. That phrase presumably does not extend to (one of) its drivers. 😉
The Cheddar Valley Gazette has announced the shortlist for this year’s Turnip Prize.
This annual award goes to the person who has created something they perceive to be rubbish art.
The shortlisted works for this year’s award are: Ewe-Kip by Drunken Shepherd; Gogglebox by Abby; Pensive by Leafy; Stick another Shrimp on the Barbie by Aunt Sponge; Ginger Nut by Trees R Green and Breast in Plant by Mike Atkinson.
The Western Daily Press has a gallery of all the shortlisted entries.
The presentation of this year’s Turnip Prize will take place at 6.30pm on Monday 1st December at The New Inn, Combe Batch, Wedmore, Somerset.
The Bristol Post has come up with a classic mix-up today. A report on the city’s Southmead Hospital has been illustrated with a photo of cars vandalised in Long Ashton, the report of which the Post carried yesterday.
Still, why let a good picture go to waste? Use it often… and everywhere! 😉
Update 28/11/14: the correct photograph has since been attached to the article.
On Monday 24th November, a Tidy BS5 summit is being held for residents at Felix Road Adventure Playground, Felix Road, Easton, Bristol, BS5 0JW (map) from 6.45 to 8.45 pm.
The aims of this meeting are:
The meeting is being organised by residents, councillors and Up Our Street and will be chaired by local resident Liz Jones.
All are welcome and the local media have been invited.
If you are male, speak Welsh and have problems with your love life, particularly those related to erectile dysfunction, then maybe the new Aberystwyth store opened by Tesco (motto: every little helps) can come to your rescue.
The Daily Post reports that the cash machine installed at Tesco’s new outlet in Aberystwyth is offering a “free erection” (codiad am ddim) to Welsh speakers whilst Anglophones have to be content with withdrawing cash free of charge.
According to the Post, a Tesco spokesperson is reported to have said: “We’ve taken down the sign and will replace it with the correct translation. We appreciate this is a sensitive area.”
Here’s a little help for Tesco: next time use a professional translator! 😉
Hat tip: M J Lee.