#20

The Times, February 14, 2017

First, an irritating non sequitur. What on earth has being ‘a star in the ballad world’ got to do with his height? Second, what is the relevance of John Bercow to a pop singer? I suspect none at all. Third, one of those annoying questions left unanswered – what height is Mr Bercow? Are we all supposed to know? How else can we calculate what height Mr Blunt is? A 30-second glance at the internet reveals that the Speaker (which would also have been a useful reference, if you needed to mention Mr Bercow at all) is around 5ft 6in while the singer is about 5ft 7in.

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I cannot stress strongly enough that it takes years of experience to make a good sub-editor. When I was a junior sub, almost everyone else in the department was older and wiser, and the benefit of their experience was passed down to me. A chief sub would often point out how things could be improved. These days most older subs have been dispensed with and there is no one to teach or mentor the younger ones. Staffs have been so reduced that no one has time to guide anyone else.

This clinic is an attempt to pass on my experience using real examples. I would love to receive items from others as I do not read every paper every day. I will add new entries as I come across them.