We're planning to go despite the weather. I've told Lady Saga, the fact Julia Bradbury will be there has nothing to do with it.
Edit: the latest weekend weather forecast for the UK is brighter, warmer and dryer. That sounds good so it's off with the oilskins, wellies and sou'wester and on with the shorts, tee shirts and sun hats! Good luck everyone!!!
Anyway, on to something much more interesting. I recently contacted the IWA to ask why they have started to promote 'upcoming' events in their magazine? Whatever happened to simple terms like 'future' or 'next', I asked? There seems to be a growing trend, even in narrowboating circles, to use more letters or words than is necessary. Do they think this makes the message sound more important? It's like the 'strictly private' sign - is this more private than private?
It reminds me of a simple example one of my teachers once told me. He described a sign outside a fish shop that read:
Fresh fish for sale today
He then went on to explain, you would assume the fish were fresh so the word 'fresh' is not needed. The shop is obviously a fish shop so the word 'fish' is not needed. It's also obvious that the fish are for sale so the words 'for sale' are not needed and obviously they are for sale today so 'today' is not needed either. An advertising guru might take a different view but it makes you realise how pointless many words are. It's odd what you remember from your school days!
At the risk of using too many words in this post, have a look at the health and safety poster below. Wouldn't the words 'no entry' do?
I wonder if IWA will respond to my email and, if so, how many words they will use!
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