17 Days to War? This was the innocent looking subtitle for an episode of a recent high profile BBC series to mark the Centenary of World War One. It instantly upset me, not deeply – I mean I wasn’t throwing things at the TV or thinking about writing a letter because I was close to tears. But the grammar of that phrase bothered me! I think the Beeb made a shocking error here because their grammar is ambiguous and could mean something insulting. Let me explain:
17 Days to War may seem like an innocent phrase to you but it grates on me, as a writer, editor and reader. It grates especially because I know a thing or two about war, although I have never had to fight in one, for which I thank God in my heart almost every day! I am not a war-lover, despite writing fiction about it. I have an affection for the technology used but more than this, I love writing about people, people in difficult situations, and there are no more extreme situations than war. I would like to think it’s an emotive subject for anybody. Continue reading “17 Days to War? Bad grammar!”→
Abstract
”With a sigh of dismay, we shake our heads in disdain at the human civilization and disparage its deepening potential for destruction as we learn of once frosty Arctic bears perishing amidst their liquefying home, Gabon elephants tortured for their regal tusks, torched Brazilian rainforests, Cambodian natural treasures disfigured by landfill & nature turning in on itself in a revengeful rage against man with floods & tsunamis.”
Snowdrops unwilling to part with winter, entrench springtime in a bed of snow-white wintry pearls.
‘You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.’ ― Pablo Neruda
With a sigh of dismay, we shake our heads in disdain at the human civilization and disparage its deepening potential for destruction as we learn of once frosty Arctic bears perishing amidst their liquefying home, Gabon elephants tortured for their regal tusks, torched Brazilian rainforests, Cambodian natural treasures disfigured by landfill & nature turning in on itself in a revengeful rage against man with floods & tsunamis. We quarantine ourselves away from the natural world in a sphere of technology and are left to tweet of global warming, talk of drought on our touch-screen TVs and bemoan on our smartphones, the fate of our children, who will inherit nothing more than an over-blazing sun and an outdated Iphone
This was just going to be a Facebook post but I got too worked up!
Tesco Low-Energy light bulbs
What happened to low-energy bulbs (the ones with the curly tubes)? I was in Tesco (yes, let’s name names) and I needed a bulb cos my hallway 40w has blown and its too dark – no window. So I go to the shelf with 50 types of bulb and there are 2 single 100w low-energy bulbs! Anyway, frustrated, I go to the counter with a pack of 2 40w bayonet, old style bulbs and they don’t scan! I am at the head of a big queue but luckily the shelf is only 20 feet away.
“You have to buy another. We can’t sell you this!” the cashier says.
“But it’s Tesco’s own brand!” I counter.
“Can’t sell it to you!”
I run to the shelf and an assistant comes to help. He can’t find any other 40w bayonet bulbs so I have to give up. I go back to pay for the rest of my shopping and ask:
“Why don’t you stock low-energy bulbs any more?”
“We did once. Then we stopped.”
Occult, Sci-fi & Military 