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Wednesday 9 November 2022

Literacy in Swindon



Ridiculed plaque honouring key workers littered with grammatical errors




The 35-word inscription contained a spelling mistake, nine unnecessary capital letters, and an erroneous mid-sentence full-stop, while also stating that the pandemic began in March 2019.

The plaque was unveiled at a ceremony alongside a newly planted tulip tree, which was meant to serve as a reminder of the dedication shown by key workers and volunteers over the last two years.

7 comments:

dearieme said...

Did those Key Workers and Volunteers include the Gestapo who stopped people enjoying a walk in the park?

James Higham said...

Yes but whether the writer knew all about equality and diversity ... that's the main thing! Who cares about literacy and numeracy?

Scrobs. said...

Honour - very 'non-U' these days...

There used to be a builder in Swindon, called ISIS, (after the river, not the terrorist group), and one day, they popped an ad in one of the ocal rags in the South, which famously advertised...

1515 Constucion Ltd.!

Ed P said...

It's probably some sort of 'ist' to criticize the illiterate jobsworth behind the scenes who wrote that. Also, he/she/it must have had a manager skipping the proof-reading they were employed & entrusted to do.

But as JH says - priorities have changed.

(Nowadays approximately 30% of American school-leavers are handed certificates of achievement, even though they are illiterate and innumerate. 'Cos everyone must have prizes.)

A K Haart said...

dearieme - bound to include them. They probably have a Special Badge.

James - yes, as long as it feels right it's fine. Feelings first.

Scrobs - yes, honour is one of those forgotten words. Convenient that.

Ed - even MS Word would have helped draft it, but maybe they don't know anything much beyond TikTok.

Sam Vega said...

Did the tree live?

A K Haart said...

Sam - seems churlish to say so, but I hope not.