Latest news with #grammar
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
The local council treated me like a criminal when I set up a small business
Visits from His, and previously Her, Majesty's Constabulary have, thankfully, been thin on the ground. My crimes more usually, and often so thoughtfully pointed out by your good selves in the comments section, being more of grammar. So my heart leaps for a second if the boys, or indeed, girls in blue show up. There's a flutter of a butterfly in my tummy and I wonder what dastardly ancient deed, long forgotten, is at last catching up with me. The most recent visit being last year when a couple of chaps in uniform drove up to the house, knocked on the door and reported a call from two small boys who had dialled 999 and reported: 'We're starving.' I had been washing up breakfast at the time so was unaware of their antics until The Fuzz turned up on the doorstep. While I could appreciate the irony of a food critic filling his own selfish gob to the detriment of others, we all agreed that it was a rather fine practical joke and no further false claims have ensued. The other time the force showed up was when I had the temerity to use our cow shed, a large structure built in the 1980s, to entertain locals at what I call Sitwell Supper Club. The concept is simple: I employ the services of a great chef (using my contacts in the business gathered over many years as a food writer), folks buy tickets and are given dinner along one long and glorious table that seats some 70 people. The idea took hold more than four years ago when we moved to a lovely patch of rural Somerset, off the rolling wilds of Exmoor. I had run such events at our old home in Northamptonshire and as the new place came with an empty old shed, I sourced some steel tables, gathered some grills, popped in a sink, bought a simple loo block – Sitwell's Compostable Lavatorial Facility – and rustled up a few chefs (the likes of Adam Handling, Atul Kochhar, Anna Haugh, Rowley Leigh and Cyrus Todiwala). Then I sold tickets, swept the floor, laid the tables and welcomed in the locals. I also sold them wine using my alcohol licence. Naively, I thought this was all fine and dandy. The locals were happy, when they weren't cold, I employed a local team on service and urged my chefs to purchase local produce. All went well until I had an email from the police in summer 2021. 'I don't recall seeing any Temporary Event Notices,' went one missive. I quickly checked and hustled up a dozen. A few weeks later, another email popped up. 'Following the Govt. advice on Covid regulations, can you confirm that this event has now been cancelled?' The event began in about two hours. 'Jeepers,' I thought. 'The events are seated meals,' I replied, my heart pumping. 'And my understanding is that we can operate within the guidelines with table service and socially distanced tables.' That did the trick. 'I am contacting those that may now be breaching guidelines. Thank you for the clarification,' came a reply. And off she went to search for others in the hospitality sector whose hands she could cuff. In the months that followed, further emails popped up. 'What crime have I committed now?' I wondered each time, my not unrealistic presumption on each occasion being that police only get in touch when there are crimes suspected or crimes perpetrated. Each one always began: 'Good afternoon, Mr Sitwell' or 'Good evening, Mr Sitwell', just as you might expect a police officer to address a person. And having enjoyed my fair share of telly over the years, the expected follow-up being: 'And if you'd like to get into this here van perhaps you might be good enough to come down to the station and answer a few questions.' My hands are literally shaking as I look back at these emails. My instinct is to reply with massively over-the-top politesse which, even if they don't perceive it, makes me feel like I'm guilty as hell. A meeting was duly arranged with the policewoman as I endeavoured to apply for a premises licence. I welcomed her to my shed. 'The bodies, I mean tables, are positioned this way,' I explained. As it happens, she was delightful and encouraging. Perhaps The Plod are like this with criminals; it puts them at their ease, fooling them into revealing the whereabouts of the lead piping. Indeed, post-meeting, a terrifying email turned up. 'CCTV cameras must be installed… the premises must operate a 'Challenge 25 policy'… training must be refreshed and documented… records must be kept of refusals to sell alcohol to persons who may be intoxicated… risk assessments must be in place…' and so forth. But the licence was duly granted and all went well until I had a missive from the local council. 'Under planning laws, a change of use of the building has occurred (no longer agricultural use) and as such planning permission is required.' Back came that familiar feeling of hollow terror. What a foolish error I had made, feeding humans rather than cows. I hired a pro to do the paperwork, filled in the forms, paid the fee and suffered the loss of profit from three events. I can now hold 12 dinners a year in my shed, enough for me to bear, frankly, but as a restaurant critic who runs events, a mere poacher with his toe in the game-keeping world, my heart feels for those in hospitality. I clean the place, market the events, switch off the lights and do everything in between once a month. But so many thousands who toil in this most essential of industries, battered by tax, low margins and a reluctant public, do so under the constant fear of breaking rules and regulations. Councils should champion hospitality ventures, congratulate them, put an arm around them and encourage them.
RNZ News
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Calling all grammar fans! We've got the interview for you
media education 12 minutes ago Grammarian Ellen Jovin discovered that when she set up a table outside a subway station in New York with a sign encouraging people to ask their grammar questions, it was a huge hit. She and her husband Brandt Johnson took the grammar table on the road across America. The result is Rebel with a Clause, a book written by Jovin and a documentary directed by Johnson. They tell Jesse what they discovered.
Telegraph
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Telegraph style book: Ff
F Facebook: Is the social media platform, Meta is the company face coverings or masks: Not 'face masks' Fairtrade Faithfull, Marianne Farah, Sir Mo Faroes far-Right: Only to be used with neo-Nazi groups such as the National Front and BNP, and not populist far Right (noun) without a hyphen; but adjective takes a hyphen, so far-Right activist, far-Right party etc farther: Used with distances; further: Means additional father of six: Not father-of-six Father Christmas: Preferred to Santa fatwa Fayed, Mohamed: not Al-Fayed. fazed (to be disorientated or disconcerted) and phased (introduced in stages) have different meanings fed up: We should soon become fed up with the ignorant usage 'fed up of' feelgood factor femmes fatales: Note both noun and adjective are pluralised feng shui fettuccine fewer: Fewer for countable things; less for uncountable filmic: An American adjective that has no place in the English language so long as cinematic exists Finnigan, Judy firefighter first past the post flammable: Not inflammable. The negative is non-flammable. Speeches remain inflammatory flaunt: Means display ostentatiously. NB celebrities do not flaunt their bodies; flout: Means treat with contempt flier: Someone who flies floccinaucinihilipilification: often cited as the longest non-technical word in major English dictionaries flyer: A small handbill advertising an event or product flypast focused/focusing: One S not two foetus: Not fetus Fogg: Phileas: Not Phineas formulas: Not formulae foxhunting: Is one word 4x4: For the vehicle Fourth of June: Happens at Eton, usually at the end of May Fourth Plinth: Capped up Francis of Assisi: St Francis was a monk, not a priest freedom of information laws / request: no caps. But Freedom of Information Act front line: As nouns always two words (adj. Front-line forces, Front-line combat etc.) front-runner fulfils: one L fullness: Preferred to fulness full-time fulsome: Means cloying or excessive, not copious, and is nearly always pejorative
Telegraph
17-07-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Telegraph style book: Dd
D dad: Not unless in a quote. Use father Dáil: The lower house of the Irish parliament Dalai Lama dashcam data: Are plural database: one word Day-Glo Debrett's decimate: Means to reduce by a tenth. Use only literally deepfake defrocked: Prefer this to unfrocked Delevingne, Cara de Klerk, de Gaulle, but De Niro and DeVito. Dennis the Menace, Denis Law, Dennis Bergkamp, Denis Lawson Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department of Health: And so on. All become lower case 'department' in later references. Write out Defra but prefer health department, education department to DoH DoE etc department of government efficiency (Doge): lower case for all foreign government departments, ministries etc dependant (noun): People, especially children, who rely on the support of another dependent (adjective): Of an outcome that is decided or determined by something else, as in 'the result is dependent on xyz happening' deplane: Americanism deserving of defenestration Derry: See Londonderry despoil: noun is despoliation or despoilment, but not despoilation devastated: Use if a large geographical area has been obliterated by forces of war or nature, never to describe someone who has suffered grief or disappointment Diana, Princess of Wales, subsequently the Princess, never Diana except in heads DiCaprio, Leonardo dietitian different from Director-general: Of the BBC is not capped the disabled, the handicapped, the blind, the deaf. Write disabled people, blind people, deaf people. Be respectful and be guided by people's preferences where possible disc/disk: Computer disks (should we ever write about them again) - otherwise, disc discreet: Means tactful or prudent discrete: Means separate, as in 'discrete units of speech' disenfranchised not disfranchised Disney: It is Disneyland, California; Disney World, Florida; Disneyland Paris, France Dispatch Box: In the Commons, mentioned in despatches dissociate: Not disassociate distinct: Means separate distinctive: Means characteristic of one person or thing, and so distinguishing it from others Dolce e Gabbana Dostoevsky dotcom double entendre: Is bad French: they would say double entente down under: When referring to Australia and New Zealand is not capped Down's syndrome Dr Martens draconian: Draco was a maker of harsh laws. Use this adjective only in a legal or regulatory context; otherwise use harsh or severe drama: In a non-theatrical context is tabloid speak. Use sparingly dreamt: Not dreamed Duchess of Sussex: Can be Meghan in headlines and sparingly in text to avoid overly repetitive use of 'the Duchess'. Never Meghan Markle unless in historical context Duchess of York: Is never Fergie. And no longer HRH due to: Must follow a form of the verb to be 'The cancellation was due to bad weather'. Otherwise use owing to 'Owing to bad weather, the match was cancelled'
Telegraph
17-07-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Telegraph style book: Aa
A a/an: If the H is pronounced, use a: a hotel, a historian; if not, use an: an hour, an heir Aborigine: Note the cap A. Aboriginal should also be capped when referring to native Australian people abdicate, abnegate and abrogate: All have different meanings. Abdicate = renounce high responsibilities; abnegate = deny oneself or others something; abrogate = abolish by official proclamation accents: Use on foreign proper names and words in regular English usage (café, pâté). Avoid in headlines and on capital letters Achilles heel, Achilles tendon: No apostrophe acronym: If pronounced as a word (e.g. Nasa), cap first letter only. If said as letters (e.g. NHS, CPS), use upper case Act (law): Takes a capital letter at every mention actress: The preferred term for a female actor AD: Comes before the year (AD 1066) and after centuries (fourth century AD). Do not use CE Addenbrooke's hospital adrenalin: No 'e' on the end advertisement: Should be shortened to advert, not ad adviser but advisory Afrikaner: The people and culture Afrikaans: The language ageing/ageist: Not aging/agist AI: No full points; no need to spell it out as AI (artificial intelligence) Aids: Initial cap only. Since it is a condition rather than a disease, write 'died of an Aids-related condition', not 'died of Aids' air strike, air base: Not one word A-level: Lower case 'l' alibi: Is not an excuse; it means proof of being elsewhere allelulia: Hallelujah is preferred al-Qaeda alright: Is not correct; use all right alsatian/Alsatian: Lower case for dogs; capital for people alternate: As an adjective means 'every other'; e.g. 'he had maths on alternate days' alternatives: There can only ever be two alternative reality: Not alternate reality among: Used when there is more than person 'The money was shared among the team' see between ancestor: An earlier generation of a family descendant: The opposite of ancestor and/or: Avoid, rewrite instead 'You may bring your passport, your driving licence or both' St Andrews University annex: Verb annexe: Noun anti-Semitism any more/anymore: We do not want any more errors... we will not put up with this anymore apostrophe: Used to indicate the omission of letters and in plural forms of lowercase letters (e.g. dotting the i's) apparatchik apps: No need to describe as 'mobile phone apps'. 'Applications' is too formal archaeology Argentina: Argentine for the citizen and adjective, not Argentinian Argyle: Knitwear Argyll: The county Armed Forces: Use upper case if referring to British forces artefact: Not artifact Ascot: The town and racecourse Royal Ascot: The racing event attended by the Royal family Asperger's syndrome assume/presume: Assume = to take for granted; presume = to suppose based on probability assure/insure: Assure for lives, insure for property at a glance: No hyphens Atacms: Acronym of Army Tactical Missile System (initial cap only) ATM: Banned American term. Use cash machine Attorney General: No hyphen Auschwitz: Nazi death camp within modern-day Poland. Do not call it 'a Polish death camp' Australian Labor Party: No 'u' in Labor autarchy: Absolute sovereignty autarky: Self-sufficiency author: A noun. Avoid use as a verb Ayatollah Khomenei (dead), Ayatollah Khamenei (living)
