Wandering Apostrophe

I do wonder how this happens – or should that be happen’s.  It is (it’s?) understandable that some people may not know about punctuation, or possibly were not educated in this country, but when I see signs produced professionally, I am amazed.   The big surprise in this group of photos is that the coffee chain Apostrophe (who style themselves “the accent on taste”) should get it wrong on the second line of their delivery cart.

Six months ago, the bookstore which carried the name of its founder Tim Waterstone, acquired a new managing director, who decided to re-instate the capital letter at the beginning of the name. No issue with that.  At the same time he announced that it would no longer be punctuated with an apostrophe. Some issues there. This editorial appeared in the Guardian

Waterstone's or Waterstones? The bookstore's dropping of its apostrophe shows confusion rules in the book trade

Waterstone’s or Waterstones?  The bookstore chain's dropping of its apostrophe shows confusion rules in the book trade, where Foyle's long ago became Foyles and Blackwell's retains an apostrophe while Hatchards does not. In the high street, Boots and Clarks sit alongside McDonald's. Likewise in groceries, where it's still Sainsbury's but also Morrisons. Among London stores, Heal's persists with what Harrods and Selfridges have discarded. In the north, the old Lewis's department stores had one, but John Lewis never has. In Bradford, Brown Muffs went without, but was still BM's for short. Across the pond, it's the same mix. Macy's and Bloomingdale's uphold punctuation values while Starbucks and Fuddruckers cast tradition aside. You can watch cricket at Lord's while betting on it with Ladbrokes. But the recent problems at Blacks are enough to send a chap off for a gin at White's. Now, would that be Gordon's, sir, or Boodles?      

See how the book trade press responded to the news here

The Apostrophe Protection Society was started in 2001 by John Richards, with the specific aim of preserving the correct use of this currently much abused punctuation mark in all forms of text written in the English language.  You may not wish to support its aims, but you can find here their useful rules for use of the apostrophe.