The world’s oldest gardener?
The gaffe strewn headline
A centurion doing a spot of dead heading
Congratulations to the super sub editors at Amateur Gardening for the hilarious gaffe in this week’s issue. The news pages have a story about gardener Eric Bristow (no relation to the portly darts ace) who has just turned 100 and has vowed to continue maintaining his plot as long as he can. The headline: Flower power is key to long life, says centurian. Good grief, I know he’s old, but to suggest he’s the last remaining soldier from the Roman army that departed our shores in 410 AD is a bit insulting – if this was the case then it would make him the world’s oldest gardener at 1,559 years old (just think of the punning headline opportunities you could have with that). Oh and apart from suggesting he was a centurian and not a centenarian, you even managed to spell centurion wrong. Come on guys and gals, what are doing in your Poole office all day, watching all the pretty boats go by?
Friends, Romans, countrymen (including centurians), lend me your dictionary…
I came, I saw, I cocked it up!
As Del Boy once said: “Rodney, you plonker”.
Deeply embarrassing. Red faces all round at AG.
How was the Roman Empire cut in half?
With a pair of Caesars!
Sorry..
Shakepeare?
As nothing compared to Sid Waddell who said of darts-ace Eric Bristow:
“When Alexander of Macedonia was 33 he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer – Bristow is only 27″
Ah the mighty Sid Waddell – ‘…there’s only one word for it, magic darts.’!
One of the owners of our local garden centre will be 101 this year and still works there. Do you think she’s the brains behind the plastic topiary?
Love it!
[...] but here it is in its printed, non-retractable glory: 3. Martyn Cox, formerly of this parish, points out another howler, at Amateur Gardening – he describes it as a "gaff", which, to be picky, is itself a [...]