Perhaps the smoke has addled their brains

One of the more dodgy shops in Newcastle city centre is called Smokey Joe's.

As you can see by the manner in which the passer-by is walking, it's the sort of place you cannot help but view with suspicion. His gait suggests that he's sidling past. Plenty of electrical items, many unboxed, sit in the window awaiting a cash sale. This is the epitome of a second hand shop.

I firmly believe that the true nature of a place is indicated by the accuracy of their writing. Which is why the shop's signs say a lot about it:

They have two signs offering their cameras for sale. One includes a rogue apostrophe and the other does not. The correct plural of camera? why it's cameras of course. However this company has hit on a chimera... they'll hedge their bets on the signs and then at least they will be half right.

No!

You see their apostrophe error shares a wall with a blatant misspelling of the word smoky. So they look fairly illiterate, whichever way you take it. Clearly these people do not give a toss.

And finally... I used the word chimera to mean a wacky scheme or wild idea. According to my dictionary this is one of its meanings. However, I only really used the word because it is a bad sound-alike to the word we see abused above. I'm sure you understand that I have to do these things to maintain my own interest.

25 February 2002
Ashley Frieze