Mores, O Mores III – CW February

A chill November wind ruffled the fallen leaves, spinning them into eddies and flurries between the parked cars. In the barren branches of surrounding trees a lone rook cawed mournfully as the sombre, black-clad congregation exited the crematorium, turning coat collars up against the cold, adjusting scarves and pulling on gloves.

Continue reading “Mores, O Mores III – CW February”

Er – like, you know, they’re only words.

On becoming a civil servant in the mid 70s, I found myself in the thrall of what could be called ‘civil service, or Mandarin, English’. That is, writing English as if you were an Oxbridge graduate, never using a single syllable word, when you could find one with at least three. The use of this style extended to the internal memos, which preceded e-mail, and especially those memos sent by senior management and those of us with a pretension to higher things. It took John Major’s Citizens Charter and the promotion of ‘simple English’ within the public sector to bring about a significant change in the attitude and style of correspondence within the public sector.
Continue reading “Er – like, you know, they’re only words.”

A Disgrace.

Private Epeli Uluilakeba served with distinction in Iraq. In the aftermath…

Still deeply disturbed by his experiences, he took to heavy drinking. In the small hours of one morning, when an over-zealous corporal was shouting to evacuate the barracks for a fire-drill, Pex drew a knife on him. For this, he was court martialled in 2009. After a short spell in Colchester prison, the Army discharged him as “no longer being of service”.

Continue reading “A Disgrace.”