Crazy Bill

It is always good to receive mails from the readers of apostrophell. Even when some mails make me wonder why they bothered, I still enjoy hearing from you all. Be sure to email me if you have any comments.

From: "Phil Gibbs"
To: <apostrophell@incredible.org.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2002 2:24 AM
Subject: Crazy Bills @ Newquay?

Ashley,

Nice to see someone who cares about the apostrophe as much as I do. It seems we're a dying breed!

I recently spent a week in Cornwall. During this time I was persuaded by my better half to visit Newquay - a dismal dump whose main shopping centre appeared to be populated by 3,000 heavy-set men, 6,000 tattoos and about 10 shirts.

In the middle of this coastal paradise was an emporium by the name of "Crazy Bills" (sic). Now I'm fairly certain that the name of the proprietor was (presumably) "Bill" and that the name of the shop was intended to convey ownership by the aforementioned Bill. Therefore it should have contained an apostrophe.

Of course, I could be wrong and he might have been simply referring to the astronomical cost of the tat available inside. However, placed in the right hand window was a hand written sign reading: "Sorry, No Dog's".

Naturally, I was apoplectic by this stage and my mood was not improved by my wife's complete lack of interest in my rantings.

Sorry, no evidence of this and I wasn't going to tackle Bill myself (he's "Crazy" after all).

I was also amused by your ASDA stories. They have an annoying habit of using "CD's" and "DVD's" instead of "CDs" and "DVDs" .Tesco don't seem to make the same mistake. My local ASDA also had an enormous sign (which must have been produced by a professional signwriter) advertising NIKAM TV'S. An apostrophe and spelling error in just two words - now THAT'S talent!

More power to your elbow.

Phil Gibbs.

More power to my elbow? Phil, man, that's a fantastic letter and truly worthy of this site. You should write more for us - I'm presently getting quite slack on the updates front, so I'm sure all the readers would appreciate a renewed injection of vigour into the campaign.

On the subject of "CDs" vs "CD's", I'd like officially to sit on the fence. I think either is acceptable, provided it is used consistently. Phil had missed the article on this site about Tesco and their Videos, which means that we must discount his praise for them. In addition, Tesco have riled another apostrophe crusader with their use of "1000's" meaning "thousands", which is also not wrong, though arguably unnecessary.

So, in summary, apostrophe mistakes can be spotted by anyone and sent for inclusion in this site. Phil has set a high standard of reader-contribution. Who's next?