There was a tremendous kerfuffle last week over the Bank of England’s “more inclusive” rebranding of its logo, at a reported cost of £50,000.
This makeover involved removing a pile of coins at Britannia’s feet and replacing the St George’s Cross with the union flag. Responding to the scorn the rebranding received, a Bank spokeswallah said: “Since 2019, the Bank of England has been reviewing its visual communications to make it more accessible, inclusive and reflect our current values and mission. How we communicate is part of how we can carry out our mission.”
If communication is the motivating force of the institution, it would be a good idea if such statements are made in plain English. Why should the Bank be on a “mission”, whatever that is? Surely its function is to keep a weather eye on the nation’s wealth. I’m pretty certain that my grandfather, who worked at the Bank, would have had a fairly salty reaction to such nonsense.
To more down-to-earth issues. I couldn’t help but notice a legend emblazoned on the side of a dustcart – “Cardboard and co-mingled recycling”. I’m pretty certain that in the good old days we would have said mixed rather than co-mingled. Not to be outdone, MasterChef introduced a quite horrible word, courtesy, I think, of Gregg Wallace, who referred to the wannabes as “auditioners” rather than “contestants”. If he was indeed the culprit, I think a whack with a skillet is in order.
No such punishment for the woman who, on Radio 4’s Six O’Clock News, introduced the most wonderfully mangled expression: “We’re going to hell in a handbasket.” What a delightful image and more power to her elbow.
• Jonathan Bouquet is an Observer columnist
