Another day, another seminar at the British Library! On Wednesday we were treated to a ‘celebration of swearing and profanity’ with Peter Silverton, author of Filthy English, Graham Dury and Simon Thorp from Viz magazine and Ian Martin, writer and swearing consultant on the TV series ‘The thick of it.’
There may well have been an educational aspect to this. Or it might just have been a good excuse to say f*ck and c*nt rather a lot!
On this occasion, the temptation to buy their books proved irresistible! The new Viz book is entitled Das Krapital - an updated version of Roger’s Profanisaurus with such entries as: “Shatkins n. Rapid astonishingly affective diet based on the somewhat controversial theory that the most effective way to lose weight is to acquire a bacterial stomach infection by the intake of meat only, especially 2am burger bar fayre.”
Peter Silverton’s book is, according to the blurb, “the story of our bad language and its three-decade journey from the fringes of decency to the working centre of a more linguistically liberal nation.” Peter kindly gave me a free music CD, so with absolutely no risk to my integrity, and without breaking my non-endorsement rule, I am happy to urge you all to buy his book here!