JOHN THE DROVER

For a few terrifying minutes this morning we thought we were back in school being berated by the headmaster  about our letter-writing skills.  We then realised it was something far,  far worse in the shape of John the Drover,  alias John MacLeod,  writing in the Scottish Daily Mail today.

According to John,  no one can write properly any more and certainly not compose a letter properly.  John then reverts to his childhood and tells us how it should be done :-

"You knew that even a typed letter should be topped and tailed by hand,  a convention that seems to be followed only by MP's these days.  Perhaps more arcanely,  you knew that on hailing an engagement you congratulated the gentleman,  but never the lady;  that a bishop is "Your Grace" while a cardinal is "Your Eminence";  that a minister is the "Rev WE Free" or "Rev Mr Free",  but never "Rev Free".  John goes on that  "if a correspondent were a British national the address should be "Joe Bloggs,  Esq.,"  not "Mr Joe Bloggs" while  "should one feel impelled to write to our gracious sovereign,  the correct addressage is "The Queen" not "HM The Queen" or "Queen Elizabeth II".

Well,  since we have never written to either Angus Brendan or Dr Alasdair (perish the thought),   far less "The Queen",  we wouldn't know about those particular particulars,  if you get our drift.   However,  those little things apart,  we have managed to get by perfectly well in this modern world without any lesson from John the Drover as,  we imagine,  have most of the population.   

We know John tries to make a living out of striving to be an old fogey. The corollary is that it is no  wonder   newspaper sales are in free fall with such absolute, pretentious drivel.