As spotted on the Sports Direct website.
Needless to say, some parts of the Welsh media have been having a field day with this elementary orthographical error, with Nation.Cymru jesting as follows:
We can neither confirm or deny that Sports Direct are selling Egnland hats as well!
It looks like the product has now been withdrawn from sale as it does not come up in search results on the company’s website, as confirmed today (4th Dec.) by Nation.Cymru.
The impression is frequently given that these modern times are the era of 24 hour news coverage, but that itself can be very misleading, as can what is and how it is reported.
Evidence for this comes from today’s Shropshire Star website, which features the following headline under the UK News heading.
Whilst it is encouraging to see coverage in the regional press of matters of more than local importance, one has to ask the following question of the Star’s editor: what is this doing under the UK News heading?
When I was a lot younger, I recall being told in school that news of Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805 took three months to reach settlements in northern Scotland.
It seems that news of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921 and the subsequent foundation of the Irish Free State in December 1922 has yet to reach Hollinswood Road in Telford where Salopia’s Ministry of Truth is situated.
NB: The paper does have a separate World News section.
Update: 17.00h, 30/11/24: In a textbook case of (lack of) editorial perspicacity, there is now a second Irish election story filed under the UK News heading.
Update: 01/12/24: There seems to be no end to the paper’s political and geographical ignorance as this morning a third story was posted as UK News.
Additional research has since revealed that the Shropshire Star routinely files Irish news under its UK News heading. Neo-colonialism and ignorance are therefore alive and well in the newspaper of record in my home county.
Susie Dent is a lexicographer and etymologist who has appeared in “Dictionary Corner” on the Channel 4 game show Countdown since 1992.
Susie also has a presence on man-baby Elon Musk’s Twitter/X social media platform and usually posts her own chosen word of the day, which is frequently influenced by that particular day’s news agenda.
Here is her contribution for today, 6th November 2024, following on from the news that disgraced former president, insurrectionist, convicted felon, adjudicated sexual predator, business fraudster, congenital liar and golf cheat Donald John Trump has been elected the 47th president of the USA.
All your ‘umble scribe will say is that the US was faced with an IQ test yesterday: and failed it; abysmally.
The British refusal to discuss reparations at the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government (Chogm) in Samoa (posts passim) is still having repercussions in national politics.
Both candidates for the Conservative Party leadership have now voiced their opinions on the matter.
Talking to the Telegraph, the Tories’ house magazine, the deeply unpleasant Kemi Badenoch has claimed British politicians are “too embarrassed” to oppose Britain paying reparations for slavery, which is a strange way of looking at the problem, as that is what Starmer has actually done. Moreover, Badenoch is now on record as saying: “I would not put my name to any document that mentioned reparations”.
However, Badenoch’s arrogance and lack of contrition for centuries of crimes against humanity committed in the name of the British empire is nothing compared with the arrogant ignorance and ignorant arrogance displayed by her rival for the Tory Party leadership, Robert ‘Honest Bob’ Jenrick.
As today’s Guardian reports, Honest Bob, who as immigration minister, infamously ordered murals of Disney characters be painted over at a children’s asylum centre, is now patronisingly stating that former British colonies “owe us a debt of gratitude for the inheritance we left them”. In particular, writing in the Daily Mail, Jenrick stated as follows in the mode typical of apologists for the centuries of crimes against humanity perpetrated first in the name of England and then later on behalf of Great Britain/the Untied Kingdom*:
“The territories colonised by our empire were not advanced democracies. Many had been cruel, slave-trading powers. Some had never been independent. The British empire broke the long chain of violent tyranny as we came to introduce – gradually and imperfectly – Christian values.
You managed to leave out invasion, genocide, the introduction of infectious diseases against which the locals had no immunity, expropriation of land, the imposition of lines on maps by the colonisers that cut across traditional cultural, ethnic and religious divides, divide and rule policies, systematic theft, looting and other criminal acts, Mr Jenrick. This surprises me as your Wikipedia page alleges you are supposed to have a first class honours degree in history from St John’s College, Cambridge, although your correspondent notes that the current history course at St John’s does not – except in the broadest terms – mention either colonialism or decolonisation, the latter of which was a module for honours students I took as part of the political science element of my 1970s polytechnic modern languages degree.
I’m sorry to say this Robert, but the imposition of Christianity, the English legal system and cricket do not make up for all the misery the empire caused and you really should know better instead of indulging in the typical politician’s response to having an open – and in your case ignorant – mouth to any subject.
Your attitude clearly displays your bigotry and racism even if you managed to avoid using deliberately racist and insulting language.
* = Spelling is deliberate.
The verb to know and the associated noun knowledge are both concerned with the possession of information, awareness, familiarity, recognition and the like.
Over the centuries this has resulted in some very specialised uses. One of these is the phrase carnal knowledge, described by Wikipedia as “an archaic or legal euphemism for sexual intercourse“. Thus the verb to know can take on sexual connotations. The most notable example of this usage is in the King James Bible in Luke 1. This is where Mary receives news from the angel Gabriel that she is to be mother of the son of God. When so enlightened, she replies as follows in verse 34, implying she is either unmarried, a virgin, or both:
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
What are you writing about here then?
Or at least it did until this week.
Yesterday’s Bristol Live/Post carried a report of an Avon & Somerset Police Question Time on 14th October featuring Chief Constable Sarah Crew and Clare Moody, the elected Police & Crime Commissioner.
At one stage the discussion turned to human trafficking and modern slavery. The Chief Constable remarked that places of employment where trafficking was suspected included car washes, nail bars, care homes and agriculture.
To this Ms Moody added:
Victims of modern slavery and human trafficking are some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
In order to be able to intervene in this criminality you have to be able to identify it’s happening. Your own threat assessment estimates that only ten per cent of the victims of this crime are known to Avon & Somerset Police.
Is Ms Moody implying that 10 per cent of slavery and trafficking victims have a criminal record or have been previously arrested by Avon & Somerset’s finest? Or is she unaware of the special meaning of known to police?
Your ‘umble scribe suspects the latter.
Is known to police on the route to becoming another archaic or legal euphemism? Add your thoughts in the comments below.
The London to South Wales motorway, otherwise known as the M4, runs from Chiswick in the west of London to Pont Abraham Services near Pontarddulais in Sir Gaerfyrddin (that’s Carmarthenshire for monoglots. Ed.). It passes through or close to the major towns and cities of Slough, Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Casnewydd (Newport), Caerdydd (Cardiff) Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr (Bridgend), Port Talbot and Abertawe (Swansea).
Or rather it did: until a traffic report on Sunday in Bristol Live which saw road repairs move it several tens of kilometres south from South Gloucestershire, the unitary authority in which Tormarton is situated to Somerset.
Fact checking is important when reporting the news, except it seems when one works as a Reach plc ‘journalist‘: or the newsroom atlas has inexplicably gone missing; or is non-existent.
Friday’s Bristol Live/Post had a piece on an appeal to the public for information on an incident that happened a while ago in Easton. The vital part of the appeal reads as follows:
Investigating officers have released a picture of a man, who was riding a silver road bike with curved handles, who they would like to identify in connection with the assault. They said it took place on Stapleton Road on Wednesday, August 7.
Curved handles? Since when has a bicycle had handles, let alone curved ones.
At first, your correspondent believed this was just another of Reach plc ‘journalists’ publicly displaying his/her ignorance of the English language, bearing in mind the fact that the correct use of terminology – le mot juste as the French would have it – is vital for comprehension and a lack of confusion on the part of the reader.
The police press office also provided a useful picture of the suspect, plus bicycle complete with those mysterious curved handles.
Anyway, your ‘umble scribe went looking for Plod’s original press release on the Avon & Somerset Police website.
.The following sentence can be read therein:
The man pictured is described as white, slim, in his 20s or 30s and has dark hair and facial hair. He is seen wearing a black Adidas hooded top and tracksuit bottoms. He is in possession of a silver road bike with curved handles {sic].
That’s right! Those curved handles actually originated at police headquarters out at Portishead and not in Bristol’s infamous Temple Way Ministry of Truth.
This is curious as the police allegedly require high standards from their staff as a recent advertisement for a communications officer reveals.
You will have strong oral and written communications skills, an exceptional eye for detail…
The use of the phrase curved handles does show that the author has written communications skills but not strong ones, whilst the lack of an exceptional eye for detail is displayed by an ignorance of the importance of the correct use of terminology.
Words matter, except in Plod’s press room, whilst the ‘journalist’ responsible for copying and pasting the original press release should have been diligent enough to notice the original error and not repeated it, but as a former sub-editor cum media studies lecturer friend pointed out, today’s media studies student (and by implication graduates. Ed.) do not have a very high standard of English.
Finally, hose curved handles are known to most folk outside the police press office and Bristol Live/Post as drop handlebars. 😀
There was a rare item on the Bristol Live website today. Bristol City Council decided to publicise an element of its enforcement activities against fly-tippers and other environmental criminals.
Normally a shy and retiring organisation where its enforcement activities are concerned, the council is very publicity-shy about the number of people it deals with for environmental crimes, preferring quietly to issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) of up to £1,000 a time. However, the council has this time taken firmer than normal action against an alleged fly-tipper by seizing the alleged offender’s vehicle in the city’s Hartcliffe are and towing it away, as well as the more unusual step of publicising its operation.
The council was acting under section 34b of the 1990 Environmental Protection Act – the right to search or seize vehicles if a fly-tipping offence has been committed, the vehicle was used in the commission of the offence and proceedings for that offence have not yet been brought, or if the vehicle is about to be used or is being used in a fly-tipping offence.
Having repeatedly pleaded with the council to publicise its actions – if only for their deterrent effect – your ‘umble scribe is very pleased to see this welcome change and only has a further five words of advice to those in waste management and enforcement down the Counts Louse*: keep up the good work!
* = The traditional spelling for and pronunciation of the local authority’s headquarters within the city.
One of the more interesting aspects of the current Nasty Party (© Theresa May) leadership competition is the number of old Tory politicians sticking their heads back above the parapet to endorse various Conservative leadership contenders. In addition, it serves as a reminder to the rest of us just how awful those candidates are, as well as how dreadful the endorsers were when in office and still are today.
Yesterday’s Guardian reminds us that in an article in The Times (paywalled) that ‘Lord’ Peter Lilley, who was Secretary of State for Social Security under John Major, as well as occupying other ministerial and party positions under other party leaders, announced his endorsement of leadership contender Kemi Badenoch (a person so unpleasant Guardian political sketch writer John Crace has described her as being able to “start a fight with her own reflection. Ed.), drawing attention to her engineering background and aligning it with the scientific background of the sainted Thatcher, as follows:
Since Margaret Thatcher, a science graduate, nearly every prime minister and party leader of both the Tories and Labour has been a wordsmith. They mostly studied politics, philosophy and economics, or law. They were good at using words, all too often twisting words to explain away failure and rationalise broken promises, or finding out what people want then telling them what they want to hear. But they lacked the mindset to organise and plan the deployment of resources and people.
Lilley may have denounced the law and Oxbridge PPE graduates who tend to dominate modern politics and their twisted use of words, but he himself has not been immune in his time from twisting words for political effect, as was more than apparent in his 1992 speech to the Conservative Party conference, in which he referred to his notorious ‘Little List‘ which demonised those unfortunate enough to have to claim social security benefits under a Tory government – usually demonised as fraudsters and scroungers.
The transcript of Lilley’s parody from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado reads as follows:
I’ve got a little list / Of benefit offenders who I’ll soon be rooting out / And who never would be missed / They never would be missed. /
There’s those who make up bogus claims / In half a dozen names / And councillors who draw the dole / To run left-wing campaigns / They never would be missed / They never would be missed. /
There’s young ladies who get pregnant just to jump the housing queue / And dads who won’t support the kids / of ladies they have … kissed / And I haven’t even mentioned all those sponging socialists / I’ve got them on my list / And they’ll none of them be missed / They’ll none of them be missed.
Do you remember what is said about people who live in glass houses, Mr Lilley? 😀
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced today its provisional finding provisionally that Google has abused its dominant positions through the operation of both its publisher ad server and buying tools to restrict competition in the UK.
The provisional findings relate to how Google gives precedence to its own ad exchange – harming competition and, as a result, advertisers and publishers.
This action in the UK parallels the actions of US and EU agencies which are also investigating similar concerns in respect of the search behemoth.
As set out in a statement of objections issued to Google on Friday 6th September, the CMA has provisionally found that when placing digital ads on websites, the vast majority of publishers and advertisers use Google’s ad tech services in order to bid for and sell advertising space.
The CMA is concerned that Google is actively using its dominance in this sector to give precedence its own services. In so doing, Google disadvantages competitors and prevents them competing on a level playing field to provide publishers and advertisers with a better, more competitive service that supports growth in their business.
In its 2019 market study of digital advertising, the CMA found that advertisers were spending around £1.8 billion annually on open display ads, marketing goods and services via apps and websites to UK consumers.
The CMA has found provisionally that, since at least 2015, Google has abused its dominant positions through the operation of both its buying tools and publisher ad server in order to strengthen AdX’s market position and to protect its AdX advertising exchange from competition from other exchanges. Moreover, due to the highly integrated nature of Google’s ad tech business, the CMA has provisionally found that Google’s conduct has also prevented rival publisher ad servers from being able to compete effectively with DFP, harming competition in this market.
This practice is still continuing, according to the CMA. The Authority is therefore considering what may be required to ensure that Google ceases these anti-competitive practices and do not do the same or similar in the future.
The CMA may impose a financial penalty on any business found to have infringed the Chapter II prohibition of up to 10% of its annual worldwide group turnover.