The apostrophe, for some reason, is one of those marks that raises hackles no matter how it is approached. I write in the Shady Characters book about a news story that ran back in 2002, when the city council of Nottingham, England, instituted an “apostrophe swear box”. Infuriated by misuse of the apostrophe by council workers, Graham Chapman, the council’s leader,
A quiet week! Where has all the punctuation news gone? If you have any tips as to something you’d like to see featured here, please get in touch.
The first of today’s abbreviated items is a tasty punctuational treat: photographer Emily Blincoe’s juxtapositions of complimentary foodstuffs at THIS & THAT, her Tumblr blog, are a feast for the eyes. Each of her pairings — pork & beans, cookies & cream, burger & fries, and many more — is lovingly composed with an edible ampersand at its heart. I thought my love for bacon could ascend no higher, but after seeing Emily’s eggs & bacon, I may have to revise my opinion.
No Miscellany this week, I’m afraid; the world of punctuation has been quiet of late. What I did want to do, though, was to share the photograph above, taken by Elizabeth Houston, my mum, at my wedding a couple of weeks ago to the beautiful Leigh Stork. The wedding took place in the Auditorium at Òran Mór in Glasgow, Scotland, under the shadow of Alasdair Gray’s fantastic mural, and we were lucky enough to celebrate it surrounded by a veritable army of our closest friends and family.