In message <uafpdb$lvcd$1@dont-email.me> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023 09:44:26,
Clive Arthur <clive@nowaytoday.co.uk> writes
>On 03/08/2023 08:20, Nick Odell wrote:
>
><snip snip>
>
>> What would hairdressers do if they couldn't call their shopfronts,
>>"Scissors" "A Cut Above" or "Headlines"?
>
>Would 'Curl Up and Dye' in Pewsey be an infringement?
>

No, it's one of the long tradition of humorous business names! I like
it. And the food outlet I've seen pictures of called "Wok this way", or
the garage in Bedlington that's had a sign for at least 50-60 years
saying "tyred and exhausted".

None of these are IMO intending to mislead: they just amuse.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Lucy Worsley takes tea in Jane Austen's Regency Bath. - TV "Choices" listing,
RT 2017-5-27

In message <kj18mtFa7s4U1@mid.individual.net> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023
10:01:17, John Armstrong <jja@blueyonder.co.uk> writes
[]
>https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/packaging-and-labelling#:~:tex
>t=Food%20businesses%20must%20include%20a,that%20has%20imported%20the%20f
>ood
>
>Not very far in to this morass of information we read, "The name of the
>food must be clearly stated on the packaging and not be misleading."

Thanks very much. That's very helpful: it specifies "The _name_ of the
food must ... not be misleading." That's good, as I think most
reasonable people ("the man on the Clapham omnibus") would assume the
_name_ to be what's shown on the _front_, the basic short description.
>
>Further down, we see this:
>
>"Food authenticity
>Food authenticity is when food matches its description. Labelling is
>regulated to protect consumers who should have the correct information
>to make confident and informed food choices based on diet, allergies,
>personal taste or cost."

That probably _is_ OK for the two liquids I'm looking at and the buffalo
paste, as the packaging does include details of the ingredients. It's
the front name that's the thing.
>
>Prima facie, I think you might have a good case. Trading Standards are
>the chaps to get in touch with.

That's what I thought - though there is always the question of which
Trading Standards; common sense, in the case of something like a
supermarket, is the one where the company is based, though I can see
some companies (and possibly some courts) saying you have to use the
local one where you bought the product, as that is where you were
deceived. But in practice, when I went to the relevant website, as well
as it being very difficult to find where to raise such a matter anyway,
I was most definitely directed to Citizen's Advice, which I wasn't happy
about, as (a) I don't think they _are_ the right body, (b) they are a
charity [though I hope TS cover the costs of handling such matters as
they do the directing]. Despite these misgivings, I followed that
instruction; eventually I received communication saying there did indeed
seem to be a case - from trading standards anyway.
>
>In the 70s and 80s I worked in food processing companies and a food
>packaging supplier, hence my interest. I remember being amused to see,
>on a tin of boiled ham, a picture of the ham garnished with a sprig of
>parsley. That had to bear the caption, "Serving Suggestion", just in
>case someone thought there might be parsley in the tin.

Fair enough (-:. (Though of course "serving suggestion" has gone the way
of all such phrases, and now is used to show extremely fanciful
"suggestions", in some cases in which the actual product is only a small
part!)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Lucy Worsley takes tea in Jane Austen's Regency Bath. - TV "Choices" listing,
RT 2017-5-27

On Wed, 2 Aug 2023 13:30:57 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell <nickodell@bigfoot.com> wrote:

>On Wednesday, August 2, 2023 at 3:22:14?PM UTC+1, Jenny M Benson wrote:
>> If I buy a tin of Baked Beans I expect it to contain Baked Beans and I
>> suspect there is a legal requirement that it does. Likewise, Mandarin
>> Orange Segments or Raspberry Jam.
>>
>> However I have just heartily enjoyed a lunch of "Bison Pate with Fried
>> Onions" (1) on toast. On reading the list of ingredients I find that
>> the pate (2) contains 27% Chicken Liver, a total of 37% Pork products,
>> 20% Bison meat and a mere 1% Fried Onions (plus condiments, milk and water.)
>>
>> How can that be legally described as "Bison Pate? And I'd say "with
>> Fried Onions" is stretching it a bit.
>>
>> (1) Specially prepared for Cholmondeley Castle, in case you're wondering.
>>
>> (2) Sorry, I can't do accents on this mini keyboard.
>>
>>
>It's better than Brussels Pâte: that doesn't seem to contain any trace of sprouts whatsoever.

Leave it for long enough and I'm sure it will.

--
Regards, Paul Herber
https://www.paulherber.co.uk/

On 03/08/2023 11:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <kj16d3FajgpU1@mid.individual.net> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023
> 09:21:57, BrritSki <rtilburyTAKEOUT@gmail.com> writes
> []
>> I've often toyed with the idea of changing my first name to Lord ...
>>
> Or go the whole hog, and use Milord - think of how people would then
> have to address you!
Mu Italian SoL's uncle is marrid to a Cuban lady whose name is Milady.

On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 10:01:17 +0100, John Armstrong <jja@blueyonder.co.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

>In the 70s and 80s I worked in food processing companies and a food
>packaging supplier, hence my interest. I remember being amused to see,
>on a tin of boiled ham, a picture of the ham garnished with a sprig of
>parsley. That had to bear the caption, "Serving Suggestion", just in
>case someone thought there might be parsley in the tin.

In the mid '70s, I worked in the Ad department of Safeway (Southern Britain
Zone*) HQ, we used to get regular deliveries from the States, of seasonal
clip art sheets for use in the local press ads and window posters. They
were very rarely used at all - the people looked 'too American', the
fireworks for early July were culturally inappropriate and so on.

The first time I filled a space on a poster with a picture of turkey on a
dish trimmed with holly, I left the attached line "serving suggestion" on
the clip. Everyone else in the studio asked me why. I know I'd seen it on
TV, posters and press ads for other grocery lines, but it wasn't a thing
they had ever done there and no one had ever told them to. (I didn't have
to remove it from the artwork, it would have unbalanced the layout.)

We had a discussion about whether people would really need ideas on how to
serve their food. I don't think it occurred to any of us that anyone would
be daft enough to expect to get the trimmings with the bird.

So I'm blaming the litigious nature of the great American public for the
whole nonsense. I've (still) never seen it printed on a tin of anything,
but maybe the print was too small**.

*This was in the days when Safeway was a huge, global, American-owned
business which branded itself as 'the biggest supermarket in the world'.

**I've been short sighted most of my life - aggravated, I'm told, by doing
a lot of 'close-work'. Over the past couple of years I have found I can no
longer read the small print on packaging. It's a bit of a shock as I've
been used to removing my specs to read. Digital photography is a wonderful
thing, I can photograph the labels and zoom in on the result to check for
ingredients I don't want to risk. We, in particular young mothers, did a
great job in the '80s and '90s to get ingredient lists improved and
legislated for.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On 03/08/2023 12:51, BrritSki wrote:
> On 03/08/2023 11:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> In message <kj16d3FajgpU1@mid.individual.net> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023
>> 09:21:57, BrritSki <rtilburyTAKEOUT@gmail.com> writes
>> []
>>> I've often toyed with the idea of changing my first name to Lord ...
>>>
>> Or go the whole hog, and use Milord - think of how people would then
>> have to address you!
> Mu Italian SoL's uncle is marrid to a Cuban lady whose name is Milady.
>

He's not called Aramis, is he?

john

J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
> In message <997ec2df-b7dd-424a-b863-fc55487353a2n@googlegroups.com> at
> Thu, 3 Aug 2023 00:20:30, Nick Odell <nickodell@bigfoot.com> writes
> []
>> I think a lot of what you want already exists in legislation but is
>> poorly enforced. It would be good if people who are intent on fraud and
>
> Yes; it's a pity, as you'd think it's common sense, but the poor
> enforcement has let the industry get away with it for sufficiently long
> that a longish period of enforcement _is_ now needed - but isn't going
> to happen, because law enforcement will always think (arguably
> correctly) that it's got better things to do with its limited resources.
>
>> deceit were clamped down upon more vigorously but it would be a shame
>> if literalism were enforced too far and imagination were stifled.
>
> Agreed (more below).
>>
>> What would hairdressers do if they couldn't call their shopfronts,
>> "Scissors" "A Cut Above" or "Headlines"? There's a café in Huddersfield
>> simply called "Lost Property" - it's near the Railway Station. And
>> talking of railway stations, should Huddersfield Railway Station be
>> allowed to call itself that when, for months at a time during what is a
>> major rail upgrade, no trains are running through it or stopping there?
>
> I don't think I'd bar any of the above examples, as there is no
> _intention_ to deceive - just to amuse; the only _possible_ one being
> "Lost Property" near the station, and I would have thought that was fine
> if those working there explain clearly to anyone who popped in genuinely
> thinking it _was_ LP, that it isn't. [Maybe even having a sign on the
> wall to that effect - perhaps giving details of the real LP.] I can't
> see how any _deception_ could be caused by use of such a name, unlike
> the examples that started this, where food products are named in such a
> way as to mislead about their ingredients - deliberately in the case of
> the liquids I'm considering; I'm not sure about the buffalo paste
> anotherrat has described.
>>
>> Inspired by the Bonzos, the working title for my retail premises in
>> rural Norfolk moved between "John's Coffee Bar" and "Jacquie's Café and
>> Take-away" although because of anticipated sense-of-humour failure in
>> the tiny remote community where I set up (and actual sense-of-humour
>> failure of WNDC) I didn't call it either of those things. I didn't even
>> call it The Music Workshop (WNDC again).
>>
>> "The Music Workshop? Nah, that's just the name of the building, luv."
>>
>> Nick
>> nickodell49@yahoo.ca
>>
>>
> It's a fine line. I was a bit displeased to discover that the Design
> Council, which most people think of as endorsing good design and even
> giving awards for it, is entirely a company: the name to me _implies_
> some degree of officialness. But on the other hand, I have absolutely no
> objection to the pop group calling themselves the Style Council: it's
> clearly slightly humorous (and the group came into being when fashion,
> style etc. were a subject of great discussion - '80s was it?). It's how
> people interpret the name: I don't think anybody would assume a pop
> group were claiming any authority in that area!

‘Ministry of Sound’

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

BrritSki <rtilburyTAKEOUT@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 03/08/2023 11:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> In message <kj16d3FajgpU1@mid.individual.net> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023
>> 09:21:57, BrritSki <rtilburyTAKEOUT@gmail.com> writes
>> []
>>> I've often toyed with the idea of changing my first name to Lord ...
>>>
>> Or go the whole hog, and use Milord - think of how people would then
>> have to address you!
> Mu Italian SoL's uncle is marrid to a Cuban lady whose name is Milady.
>
>

‘Parker’ bring the Rolls round will you?’

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On 03/08/2023 15:36, John Ashby wrote:
> On 03/08/2023 12:51, BrritSki wrote:
>> On 03/08/2023 11:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>> In message <kj16d3FajgpU1@mid.individual.net> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023
>>> 09:21:57, BrritSki <rtilburyTAKEOUT@gmail.com> writes
>>> []
>>>> I've often toyed with the idea of changing my first name to Lord ...
>>>>
>>> Or go the whole hog, and use Milord - think of how people would then
>>> have to address you!
>> Mu Italian SoL's uncle is marrid to a Cuban lady whose name is Milady.
>>
>
> He's not called Aramis, is he?
>
No, and there's only 1 of him.

On Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 10:28:23 AM UTC, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <uafpdb$lvcd$1...@dont-email.me> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023 09:44:26,
> Clive Arthur <cl...@nowaytoday.co.uk> writes
> >On 03/08/2023 08:20, Nick Odell wrote:
> >
> ><snip snip>
> >
> >> What would hairdressers do if they couldn't call their shopfronts,
> >>"Scissors" "A Cut Above" or "Headlines"?
> >
> >Would 'Curl Up and Dye' in Pewsey be an infringement?
> >
> No, it's one of the long tradition of humorous business names! I like
> it. And the food outlet I've seen pictures of called "Wok this way", or
> the garage in Bedlington that's had a sign for at least 50-60 years
> saying "tyred and exhausted".
>
> None of these are IMO intending to mislead: they just amuse.

Many years ago I was on a business management course. One of the other students, a Mrs Badely wanted to set up her own knitware business. I suggested she might call it "Badely Knitted Jumpers" but she was not amused.

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca

On Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 11:08:44 AM UTC, Paul Herber wrote:
> On Wed, 2 Aug 2023 13:30:57 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell <nick...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> >It's better than Brussels Pāte: that doesn't seem to contain any trace of sprouts whatsoever.
>
> Leave it for long enough and I'm sure it will.
>
:^)

N.

On 03/08/2023 19:57, Nick Odell wrote:
> On Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 10:28:23 AM UTC, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> In message <uafpdb$lvcd$1...@dont-email.me> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023 09:44:26,
>> Clive Arthur <cl...@nowaytoday.co.uk> writes
>>> On 03/08/2023 08:20, Nick Odell wrote:
>>>
>>> <snip snip>
>>>
>>>> What would hairdressers do if they couldn't call their shopfronts,
>>>> "Scissors" "A Cut Above" or "Headlines"?
>>>
>>> Would 'Curl Up and Dye' in Pewsey be an infringement?
>>>
>> No, it's one of the long tradition of humorous business names! I like
>> it. And the food outlet I've seen pictures of called "Wok this way", or
>> the garage in Bedlington that's had a sign for at least 50-60 years
>> saying "tyred and exhausted".
>>
>> None of these are IMO intending to mislead: they just amuse.
>
> Many years ago I was on a business management course. One of the other students, a Mrs Badely wanted to set up her own knitware business. I suggested she might call it "Badely Knitted Jumpers" but she was not amused.
>
ROFL

In message <40a16925-b3ff-4232-9326-db4102717d6an@googlegroups.com> at
Thu, 3 Aug 2023 11:57:33, Nick Odell <nickodell@bigfoot.com> writes
[]
>Many years ago I was on a business management course. One of the other
>students, a Mrs Badely wanted to set up her own knitware business. I
>suggested she might call it "Badely Knitted Jumpers" but she was not
>amused.
>
>Nick
>nickodell49@yahoo.ca

I think her humour bypass lost her what could have been a memorable
name; people would remember it, and thus probably come back. (And even
if there were someone daft enough to come back to claim what they'd
bought _wasn't_ badly made, the spelling anomaly could be pointed out.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Look at those early black-and-white episodes of /Coronation Street/;
like Ibsen in an flowered pinny. - Iam McMillan, RT 2020/2/22-28

In message <uagfji$q80m$1@dont-email.me> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023 15:03:14,
Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> writes
[]
>> It's a fine line. I was a bit displeased to discover that the Design
>> Council, which most people think of as endorsing good design and even
>> giving awards for it, is entirely a company: the name to me _implies_
>> some degree of officialness. But on the other hand, I have absolutely no
>> objection to the pop group calling themselves the Style Council: it's
>> clearly slightly humorous (and the group came into being when fashion,
>> style etc. were a subject of great discussion - '80s was it?). It's how
>> people interpret the name: I don't think anybody would assume a pop
>> group were claiming any authority in that area!
>
>‘Ministry of Sound’
>
Yes, another one I have to grudgingly allow - grudgingly, since when
they first appeared, they seemed to just be putting out characterless
pop (but I don't think anyone in a right enough mind to take action
would think they were claiming any authority). More likely to get them
into trouble, I would have thought, was their use of the portcullis
logo, but obviously it didn't, as AFAIK they're still using it.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Look at those early black-and-white episodes of /Coronation Street/;
like Ibsen in an flowered pinny. - Iam McMillan, RT 2020/2/22-28

In message <olancilfhepcl6vli86pvc2ug0h99ig4h5@4ax.com> at Thu, 3 Aug
2023 15:22:15, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> writes
[]
>**I've been short sighted most of my life - aggravated, I'm told, by doing
>a lot of 'close-work'. Over the past couple of years I have found I can no
>longer read the small print on packaging. It's a bit of a shock as I've
>been used to removing my specs to read. Digital photography is a wonderful
>thing, I can photograph the labels and zoom in on the result to check for
>ingredients I don't want to risk. We, in particular young mothers, did a
>great job in the '80s and '90s to get ingredient lists improved and
>legislated for.

I have one long-sighted and one short-sighted eye; they had sufficient
overlap (I think one went from an inch or two to some tend of yards, the
other a foot or two to infinity) that there was no problem (I don't have
binocular vision anyway). It actually used to be quite useful: I'd
"switch to the short-focus eye" for really close work. (I used to feel
like one of those TV cameras - Marconi Mk. IV was it? - that had a
turret of lenses on the front.) Now, with age-related receding of near
points, I no longer have the very close ability - though normal "reading
glasses" restores it somewhat.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Look at those early black-and-white episodes of /Coronation Street/;
like Ibsen in an flowered pinny. - Iam McMillan, RT 2020/2/22-28

On 03-Aug-23 21:06, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <40a16925-b3ff-4232-9326-db4102717d6an@googlegroups.com> at
> Thu, 3 Aug 2023 11:57:33, Nick Odell <nickodell@bigfoot.com> writes
> []
>> Many years ago I was on a business management course. One of the other
>> students, a Mrs Badely wanted to set up her own knitware business. I
>> suggested she might call it "Badely Knitted Jumpers" but she was not
>> amused.
>>
>> Nick
>> nickodell49@yahoo.ca
>
> I think her humour bypass lost her what could have been a memorable
> name; people would remember it, and thus probably come back. (And even
> if there were someone daft enough to come back to claim what they'd
> bought _wasn't_ badly made, the spelling anomaly could be pointed out.)

Making jokes about someone else's name never raises a smile with them.

Your novel quip is something they have heard (in one form or another)
all their lives.

--
Sam Plusnet

On 03-Aug-23 11:19, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <uafpdb$lvcd$1@dont-email.me> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023 09:44:26,
> Clive Arthur <clive@nowaytoday.co.uk> writes
>> On 03/08/2023 08:20, Nick Odell wrote:
>>
>> <snip snip>
>>
>>> What would hairdressers do if they couldn't call their shopfronts,
>>> "Scissors" "A Cut Above" or "Headlines"?
>>
>> Would 'Curl Up and Dye' in Pewsey be an infringement?
>>
>
> No, it's one of the long tradition of humorous business names! I like
> it. And the food outlet I've seen pictures of called "Wok this way", or
> the garage in Bedlington that's had a sign for at least 50-60 years
> saying "tyred and exhausted".
>
> None of these are IMO intending to mislead: they just amuse.

Getting back to your original point John.

Is there no place for Caveat Emptor?
The more guardrails that are put in place, the less capable people seem
to be of taking care of themselves.

--
Sam Plusnet

On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 11:57:33 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell <nickodell@bigfoot.com>
scrawled in the dust...

>Many years ago I was on a business management course. One of the other students, a Mrs Badely wanted to set up her own knitware business. I suggested she might call it "Badely Knitted Jumpers" but she was not amused.

I was :))
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 22:13:24 +0100, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> scrawled in
the dust...

>Getting back to your original point John.
>
>Is there no place for Caveat Emptor?
>The more guardrails that are put in place, the less capable people seem
>to be of taking care of themselves.

Nice analogy.
Whenever I see recent photos, or visit an old castle, I am amazed by the
amount of signage and guardrails. On family holidays in my youth we visited
a lot of castles. Within a few minutes of our arrival, Bro#1 would be
waving to us from the battlements having climbed straight up the wall. It
scared me a bit, but as our parents didn't seem too bothered, I got used to
it. I don't recall Bros#2 and 3 following him up the walls, but they all
scaled at least on of the stones at Avebury. I stuck to climbing trees ...
and usually needed help getting down again.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On 03-Aug-23 23:32, Penny wrote:
> On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 22:13:24 +0100, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> scrawled in
> the dust...
>
>> Getting back to your original point John.
>>
>> Is there no place for Caveat Emptor?
>> The more guardrails that are put in place, the less capable people seem
>> to be of taking care of themselves.
>
> Nice analogy.
> Whenever I see recent photos, or visit an old castle, I am amazed by the
> amount of signage and guardrails. On family holidays in my youth we visited
> a lot of castles. Within a few minutes of our arrival, Bro#1 would be
> waving to us from the battlements having climbed straight up the wall. It
> scared me a bit, but as our parents didn't seem too bothered, I got used to
> it.

I remember visiting Bolsover castle WIWAL and standing on the battlements.
On the outside, there were the usual crenelations which, sort of,
protected you from the drop. On the inside... there was nothing between
you and a 50 - 60 foot drop. The walkway was around 5 foot wide.

> I don't recall Bros#2 and 3 following him up the walls, but they all
> scaled at least on of the stones at Avebury. I stuck to climbing trees ...
> and usually needed help getting down again.

That reminded me of proto-wofe climbing a tree whilst wearing a mini-skirt.
She hadn't anticipated a troop of boy scouts passing by.

--
Sam Plusnet

In message <KHUyM.71098$ZBic.67845@fx44.iad> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023
22:08:58, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> writes
>On 03-Aug-23 21:06, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> In message <40a16925-b3ff-4232-9326-db4102717d6an@googlegroups.com>
>>at Thu, 3 Aug 2023 11:57:33, Nick Odell <nickodell@bigfoot.com> writes
>> []
>>> Many years ago I was on a business management course. One of the
>>>other students, a Mrs Badely wanted to set up her own knitware
>>>business. I suggested she might call it "Badely Knitted Jumpers" but
[]
>> I think her humour bypass lost her what could have been a memorable
>>name; people would remember it, and thus probably come back. (And even
[]
>Making jokes about someone else's name never raises a smile with them.

Understood; I got fed up with "travels" jokes, which weren't even very
good as my name is ji- not gu-. But ...
>
>Your novel quip is something they have heard (in one form or another)
>all their lives.
>
.... in the case of the jumper shop, I would remember it, smile, and
perhaps go back to it. The fact that _she_ had heard it many times and
was no longer amused doesn't mean it was a bad idea.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.
(George Mikes in "How to be an Alien".)

In message <0PXyM.406943$mPI2.138008@fx15.iad> at Fri, 4 Aug 2023
01:41:31, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> writes
>On 03-Aug-23 23:32, Penny wrote:
>> On Thu, 3 Aug 2023 22:13:24 +0100, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> scrawled in
>> the dust...
>>
>>> Getting back to your original point John.
>>>
>>> Is there no place for Caveat Emptor?

Yes, I agree - but only to some extent. If the emptor has to read fine
print (in this case, the ingredients list), I think it's going too far:
if I buy something called "tropical drink", I don't expect it to be 77%
apple, and don't think I should have to read the ingredients list to
find that out. Or "pineapple and coconut juice" only to contain 15% and
5% of those ingredients. Sure, _some_ things _can_ be allowed to be
misleading, and where you draw the line is always arguable.

>>> The more guardrails that are put in place, the less capable people seem
>>> to be of taking care of themselves.

And the guardrails can get in the way too, obscuring the view for
example.

>> Nice analogy.
>> Whenever I see recent photos, or visit an old castle, I am amazed by the
>> amount of signage and guardrails. On family holidays in my youth we visited

Litigation - or fear thereof - is partly to blame, of course.

>> a lot of castles. Within a few minutes of our arrival, Bro#1 would be
>> waving to us from the battlements having climbed straight up the wall. It
>> scared me a bit, but as our parents didn't seem too bothered, I got used to
>> it.
>
>I remember visiting Bolsover castle WIWAL and standing on the battlements.
>On the outside, there were the usual crenelations which, sort of,
>protected you from the drop. On the inside... there was nothing
>between you and a 50 - 60 foot drop. The walkway was around 5 foot wide.
>
>
>> I don't recall Bros#2 and 3 following him up the walls, but they all
>> scaled at least on of the stones at Avebury. I stuck to climbing trees ...
>> and usually needed help getting down again.

(-:
>
>That reminded me of proto-wofe climbing a tree whilst wearing a mini-skirt.
>She hadn't anticipated a troop of boy scouts passing by.
>
:-)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.
(George Mikes in "How to be an Alien".)

On 03/08/2023 22:08, Sam Plusnet wrote:
> On 03-Aug-23 21:06, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> In message <40a16925-b3ff-4232-9326-db4102717d6an@googlegroups.com> at
>> Thu, 3 Aug 2023 11:57:33, Nick Odell <nickodell@bigfoot.com> writes
>> []
>>> Many years ago I was on a business management course. One of the
>>> other students, a Mrs Badely wanted to set up her own knitware
>>> business. I suggested she might call it "Badely Knitted Jumpers" but
>>> she was not amused.
>>>
>>> Nick
>>> nickodell49@yahoo.ca
>>
>> I think her humour bypass lost her what could have been a memorable
>> name; people would remember it, and thus probably come back. (And even
>> if there were someone daft enough to come back to claim what they'd
>> bought _wasn't_ badly made, the spelling anomaly could be pointed out.)
>
> Making jokes about someone else's name never raises a smile with them.
>
> Your novel quip is something they have heard (in one form or another)
> all their lives.
>
Monty Python's Mr Smoketoomuch. He'd never noticed anything unusual
about his name.
Steve

On Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 3:22:27 PM UTC+1, Penny wrote:

> **I've been short sighted most of my life - aggravated, I'm told, by doing
> a lot of 'close-work'. Over the past couple of years I have found I can no
> longer read the small print on packaging. It's a bit of a shock as I've
> been used to removing my specs to read. Digital photography is a wonderful
> thing, I can photograph the labels and zoom in on the result to check for
> ingredients I don't want to risk. We, in particular young mothers, did a
> great job in the '80s and '90s to get ingredient lists improved and
> legislated for.

Apparently, the reason why people can see more clearly in bright light (apart from the light being brighter) is that the light stimulates the pupils and they shrink to a smaller aperture, thereby sharpening the image.

You can force a smaller aperture simply by rolling up your index finger and thumb and peering through the tiny little hole in between. It works. I can see things much more sharply that way. But I don't half look an idiot in the supermarket when I try to do that. That's why I squint at things just like everybody else. Maybe I should invest in some fake sunglasses and pierce them with pinhole apertures?

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca

On Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 10:13:27 PM UTC+1, Sam Plusnet wrote:
> On 03-Aug-23 11:19, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> > In message <uafpdb$lvcd$1...@dont-email.me> at Thu, 3 Aug 2023 09:44:26,
> > Clive Arthur <cl...@nowaytoday.co.uk> writes
> >> On 03/08/2023 08:20, Nick Odell wrote:
> >>
> >> <snip snip>
> >>
> >>> What would hairdressers do if they couldn't call their shopfronts,
> >>> "Scissors" "A Cut Above" or "Headlines"?
> >>
> >> Would 'Curl Up and Dye' in Pewsey be an infringement?
> >>
> >
> > No, it's one of the long tradition of humorous business names! I like
> > it. And the food outlet I've seen pictures of called "Wok this way", or
> > the garage in Bedlington that's had a sign for at least 50-60 years
> > saying "tyred and exhausted".
> >
> > None of these are IMO intending to mislead: they just amuse.
> Getting back to your original point John.
>
> Is there no place for Caveat Emptor?
> The more guardrails that are put in place, the less capable people seem
> to be of taking care of themselves.
>
Hear, hear. IAWTP

N,