The inspiration

You know how some people are born to be tidy? They can't help cleaning a bench or picking up a piece of lint. Well, I'm not one of those. Instead, I seem to have been born to correct people's spelling, grammar and punctuation. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm perfect at it myself. And when I find something to correct in my own work, I'm mortified. How could that have slipped through? Surely I didn't actually write that!

I sometimes wonder if my life's work is ridding the world of spelling errors. Out of the three skills mentioned in the blog title, spelling is certainly my strength. I have some strengths and weaknesses in punctuation and I feel in awe of those wonderful people who understand grammar. My understanding and use of grammar works a bit like those talented souls who can play a tune on a piano without having learned to read music. I can't remember actually learning grammar, but I have a knack for what sounds right. I certainly know what I know. For example, if someone in my family says they "could of done something" I have to resist the urge to become extremely violent.

I know I'm my father's daughter when it comes to these traits. He was critical of errors of this nature, especially those in print. So I have him to blame for my overactive English language radar. Thanks Dad! He was particularly critical of journalists who "should have known better". Being a journalist myself, I was often a target of my father's wrath where correct usage was concerned - particularly with grammar. "Call yourself a journalist?" was an all too familiar refrain.

So now I find myself doing the same thing. He has passed on and I have picked up the mantle. Journalists are very frustrating though, I have to admit. Newspapers are riddled with mistakes and the editors don't seem to care. Television and radio reporters are often so young and ill informed that their pronunciation and sentence structure make me cringe.

But what to do about all this? Is it best to squash it down? Or should I nurture this skill and let it bloom? This blog is an attempt at feeding the plant to see if something grows. I plan to use this blog to note down the errors I come across in spoken or written daily life and whether I do anything about them.

And here's where you come in! I would love to hear from others with the same affliction. Let me know what 'howlers' you discover in your part of the world - and particularly whether you decide to do anything about it. I read a story once about a man who travelled everywhere with a black marker and a bottle of Twink. The black marker was to add in the letters that were missing from any signs he came across - usually in fruit and vegetable shops! The Twink was to eliminate those errant apostrophes and extra letters that he found in the same places. I'm contemplating a similar approach, but time will tell if I decide to follow through.

In the meantime, here's today's offering. I discovered this error a few days ago on a packet of oven chips in my freezer. The instructions say to bake the chips in the centre of the oven, "turning occassionally". I was especially surprised to see this because it's unusual to see spelling errors on packaging, unless the product comes from a country where English isn't the first language. That isn't the case with this product. Phoning them up to point out the problem is currently on my 'to do' list. I'll blog about that at some stage.