A challenge for my readers

From a colleague: name 5 current first-class county cricketers whose careers began on or before 1990.

At a guess: Cork, Gough, Grant Flower (played for Zimbabwe in 1990), Ramprakash. Any other suggestions gratefully received.

Meanwhile, I'm filling in a reference for a student who wants to do a PGCE through our education school. How shameful that that particular department knows not how to deploy apostrophes. Must try harder. See me!

All hail Intelliwench

I ranted about apostrophe abuse in a recent post.

Intelliwench has crafted a magnificent and witty cri de coeur on the subject. It's much better than mine. Go there!

''''''''''''s's''''''''''''itsit'sits'

I admit to being a grammar snob. An apostrophe means something. The absence of an apostrophe also means something. Something else. Learn what these things mean here, and tell all your friends, especially if they're handing in essays to me!

I've just watched Corpse Bride. Wonderful.

My thought's on apostrophes'

Cynical Ben has reached the giddy heights of blogging fame: somebody he doesn't know personally has listed him on their blogroll (there's a fortuitous word invented by Americans with little grasp of colloquial English). 

As usual, he's written rather a lot of good sense over there, and seems to want to goad me into ranting about Birmingham Council's attack on apostrophes. However, this piece of news merely depressed me and confirmed my suspicion that the world is being run by my students, who have prosecuted their own war on grammar for many years. Let's be clearly: apostrophes distinguish alternative meanings. However, I do remember proposing a lucrative little business: sheets of self-adhesive apostrophes of varying sizes and fonts handily packaged for the mobile grammatarian. Now Ben's inspired a name: Stickler's Stickers. Any backers?

I do like his vision of me as a man 'marking the world's biggest essay'. I award the world an E on current performance.