[John Whitworth]

Why thank you, Graham. I never knew you cared.

Douglas, I spell it 'till'. What do other Sphereans do? Your poem is a many splendoured thing.

[Brian Allgar]

John, when it's a stand-alone word, I spell it till. But Douglas is using 'til, the abbreviated form of until.

[John Whitworth]

I was thinking of 'Till Death do us part' and 'You never miss the water till the well goes dry'. I can't remember ever writing 'til in any context. Perhaps I should have, but it does look messy.

[Jayne Osborn]

It's Peter, Graham, Rob, Jerome, Brian, Chris and John,
Nigel, Adrian, ... The girls? My word, there isn't one!
Every entry up to now's been made by clever blokes,
so that is why I'm trying hard -- I sometimes make good jokes
(see them in print and win a prize, too, every now and then);
- not for quite a while though, as you're too damn good, you men!!!

Jayne

[Brian Allgar]

Just want to sa youve got the rite idea -
As Grabber boast, this peotry is easy;
You simply count the sylables, and then,
Not bothering with speling, rime or sense,
Even the wet and weedy Molesworth Two
Or squashed-tomato Peason coudnt miss.
So welkum to the skool poetic club -
But watch for prowling beaks; as any fule kno,
Our noble (ha-ha!) masters luv to sneer:
“Rambow must be turning in his coffin!
Now, Molesworth, try agane - and make it rime!”

[Jayne Osborn]

(Just as I said -- too bloody clever by half!)

But seeryously, thank you Brian; I'me flattud to have me very own peom.

[Douglas G. Brown]

Originally Posted by John Whitworth

Why thank you, Graham. I never knew you cared.

Douglas, I spell it 'till'. What do other Sphereans do? Your poem is a many splendoured thing.

John,

Probably the preferred spelling is "'till". In my geologic writing, "till" has a very specific meaning. I always have written "until" in any prose I have done. I think Miss Webber (who recalled the Lizzie Borden poem from her childhood, when it was news) in second grade taught me to write "'til", in the same sense as "'twas" and "'tis". But, Miss Webber has been in the ground for over 40 years. So, if I write "'til" as "'till" , I guess she will not smack me aside the head with a ruler.

Thanks for your appreciation. I probably have listened to too much country music on the radio. Fourteeners can become addictive.

[Graham King]

Jayne and Brian maid me larf!
Fun to reed that?
Ta, not 'arf!

[Douglas G. Brown]

The Muse Erato’s tightly gagged and bound;
Despondent that this competition round
Demands the final letter of each line
Exactly be the same as starts the next.

The outcome … Entrants’ godforsaken texts -
Sent in with rhyme and meter out of whack;
Killing diction like some plastic sack
Kevorkian might wrap round patient’s head;
(Depressive patient, yearning to be dead,
Demands from Jack to shed his mortal coil.)

Lest I be booted from Spectator’s field,
Discreetly now I pray, “I beg you, Muse
Erato (in your sorry shackled state)
Enable me to cleverly finagle
Enough lines for this verse; and then inveigle
Endorsement by the Speccie’s judge's slate.”

[Graham King]

Originally Posted by Douglas G. Brown

John,

Probably the preferred spelling is "'till". In my geologic writing, "till" has a very specific meaning. I always have written "until" in any prose I have done. I think Miss Webber (who recalled the Lizzie Borden poem from her childhood, when it was news) in second grade taught me to write "'til", in the same sense as "'twas" and "'tis". But, Miss Webber has been in the ground for over 40 years. So, if I write "'til" as "'till" , I guess she will not smack me aside the head with a ruler.

Thanks for your appreciation. I probably have listened to too much country music on the radio. Fourteeners can become addictive.

Incidentally, I saw it spelt `TILL (with that odd, backward apostrophe [or has it a special name?]) in the 'Nemi' cartoon strip (which I love) by Lise, in Monday's Metro [free daily newspaper on UK buses and trains].
May I claim a prize as picky pedant of the week?