April 2025 Newsletter

Dear members,

Welcome to the April 2025 newsletter from the Apostrophe Protection Society. If you're a new member, I've already welcomed you with a separate email, but I welcome you again. If you're an existing member then thank you, as always, for being members and for supporting the APS.

On the subject of new members, I'm delighted to see the numbers continue to rise. There's always a wide variety of sources for how new members have heard of the APS. One of the regular sources is Lynne Truss's excellent book, "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" - she mentions the APS, and the book is well worth a read if you enjoy a witty approach to punctuation. Quite a few new members have cited a teacher at their schools for their introduction to the APS - well done (and thank you) to those teachers who are educating their students in correct punctuation. And then there are a good number of new members who have heard about the APS from a friend - thank you to those existing members who are spreading the word! Please keep doing so! We're up to about 4,600 members now - so the 5,000 milestone is not far off.

I must also thank those of you who have emailed me with real life examples of apostrophe misuse. I enjoy getting these and I do my best to reply to every email I receive. I continue to put the best examples on the website on the "Latest Examples" page, so why not take a look to see what new ones have appeared. Whilst I'm on the subject of the website, I'm planning a bit of a refresh over the next few weeks, so feel free to pop back every so often to see what changes are happening.

With the summer months arriving soon (for those of you in the Northern hemisphere), it might be a good time to take a look at the official APS T-shirts - you'll find a link on the "Store" page on the website. If you need something a little warmer, you can also find APS sweatshirts and hooded-tops from the same supplier, so there's something for everyone. The APS receives a small commission on every sale, and this helps cover the costs of running the APS, so every purchase will be greatly appreciated.

The world's media seems to have been a little quiet over the past few months on apostrophe-related topics. I guess there have been other bigger news stories to cover, rather than reporting the efforts to protect our humble apostrophe, so I don't have any media interviews to report on this time. But if any of you see, or hear, something in the media that you think needs my attention, please let me know.

Missing apostrophes in street signs is a periodically recurring topic for the APS. You may recall the excitement, and media attention, surrounding missing apostrophes in street signs in North Yorkshire and Hampshire over the last year or so. The latest example that I was recently made aware of is in Guildford, a major town (almost a city) in south-east England. I wrote to the local council, and they wrote back with the usual explanation that official guidance says they shouldn't use apostrophes in street names (it doesn't say this), and that apostrophes in street names can confuse the emergency services (this is a complete fallacy). I've written back with detailed reference to the official guidance and explaining that apostrophes can, and should, be used. I made the case that apostrophes in street names form part of the local history, and that they help make connections between streets and historic buildings and people. I'll report back next time with an update and, hopefully, a successful resolution.

I've written quite a few times about brand names and apostrophes, with Harrods and Waterstones being examples of organisations that have dropped their original possessive apostrophe as part of a re-brand. It's always a bit of a shame when this happens, but it is perhaps inevitable when businesses evolve and change ownership. I was pleased, therefore, to see that the family-run business behind Walker's Shortbread recently marked their 125th birthday by reinstating the apostrophe that had previously been dropped, noting the desire to show they are family-run and to strengthen the link to their founder, Joseph Walker. This connection to family and social history is one the key reasons for campaigning to keep apostrophes where they belong, whether that's in brand names, street signs, town names, or anywhere else, so I was genuinely pleased to see this development.

I think that's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter, and thank you for being members and helping to give the APS credibility. I wish you all a happy and healthy second quarter of the year.