I blame it on Doctor Who …

A gathering of ex-CID officers of the Metropolitan Police met for their annual lunch recently.

As is usual at such reunions, stories were swapped, and gossip exchanged as the ex-coppers fondly recalled tales of the hardened villains now doing time.

There’s nothing like nostalgia they say.

So it was something of a surprise to see their event transported 100 years back in time.

For there on their commemorative menu was the date …

… 1923 Spring Lunch.

The only trouble was that it was meant to be 2023.

How those 100 years went missing, no one knows.

One can only imagine the scene as a bunch of retired officers are asked to help the police with their enquiries.

Which just goes to show how easy it is to miss some absolute howlers when it comes to proof-reading.

Proof checking is an art but there are a few tricks that you can deploy.

• Never check your own work.
• Wherever possible, check printed proofs – not on screen.
• Read out aloud as you check.
• Run spell-checker and Grammarly if you have it.
• Double-check critical stuff like dates, names, phone numbers and email addresses.
• Check the document again after a break. It’s surprising what a fresh pair of eyes can spot.

Everyone hates costly reprints and the moral in this story is typos and misprints can easily be avoided when you work smartly.

Until next week.

Alec