My middle name is a leftover surname from a couple of generations back, though it also makes sense as a given name. It used to be quite common though, in the Victorian era at least to have an old sur… (View Post)

Ah, I see. Don't make the mistake, by the way, of assuming Blackpool is typical of the Fylde. Lytham is rather posh, St. Anne's is resolutely middlebrow. Kirkham is a rather nice market tow… (View Post)

Why do they do it Araminta? Why? They are setting their kids up for a lifetime's inconvenience in explaining how their names are spelled. I remember someone at work a few years ago being inordin… (View Post)

Bradford is taking a similar approach. The City Council recognised it had a) some very ugly buildings, and b) too many offices by some way. It's solution was to rationalise office uses into the … (View Post)

Gratuitous misspelling is a scourge of our age. (View Post)