Hampshire villagers bring street’s apostrophe catastrophe to a full stop
St Mary’s Terrace in Twyford has regained its lost punctuation after a row that even drew in local author Jane Austen
Steven Morris
@stevenmorris20
Fri 17 Nov 2023 12.00 GMT
It began with a grumble from a retired teacher passionate about punctuation. He was dismayed to spot that an apostrophe had vanished from the road sign of a tree-lined lane in the Hampshire village of Twyford.
The complaint led to intricate discussions at the local city council, during which the sometimes erratic punctuation of Jane Austen, the area’s most famous writer, was cited.
But after a 12-month battle, the status quo ante was restored and an apostrophe has been added back in to the sign for St Mary’s Terrace, to the delight not only of villagers but to a growing number of enthusiasts battling against the loss of the punctuation mark across the UK.
The controversy in Twyford began last year when a new road sign for St Mary’s Terrace appeared minus the apostrophe. The former teacher Oliver Gray expressed his discontent.
Consternation grew and the Lib Dem councillor Tony Bronk, who represents the village, formally put the question to Winchester city council – under procedure rule 15 (3), to be precise. The council clearly liked exact punctuation in its rules.
“Residents of St Mary’s Terrace in Twyford were surprised and disappointed to find that when their street name plate was replaced last year it was missing an apostrophe,” Bronk wrote.
“When this assumed error was questioned, the answer given was that the council’s policy required that all new street name signs must omit any apostrophe formerly shown on such signage.”
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More here unfortunately:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/nov/17/hampshire-villagers-bring-streets-apostrophe-catastrophe-to-a-full-stop
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