With David English’s last day as Editor-in-Chief of The Cardiffian, here’s a few things his students will never forget…
1. No matter how grammatically incorrect it is, THAT must always be eliminated from copy and replaced with WHICH or nothing at all.
.@cardiffian_news His red ink has left a lasting imprint in my sub’s brain… I can rarely see ‘that’ without hitting delete #davidslastday
— Fiona Roberts (@fillefi) March 27, 2015
2. It is common courtesy to feign an interest in the Cardiff Blues, “the only team worth supporting”.
3. Anything that moves in the wrong way is subject to David’s lambasting them as “b@£$*$£s!”
4. Any attempt at writing a story about a cat will be shot down without fail. If you can read the handwriting THAT is…
5. There are, in fact, big differences between birding, ornithology and twitching. Honestly.
6. If you’re from the Valleys, or anywhere else with a reputation (Jersey), be prepared to have the fun taken out of you for the entire year. Every. Single. Day.
7. Phrases sticking in your head like “Ok, let’s have a conference!”, “is copy getting cleaner?” and “Are you enjoying Cardiff?”
@cardiffian_news LET’S HAVE A CONFERENCE — Elena Cresci (@elenacresci) March 27, 2015
@LauraSLea @cardiffian_news @HenryMcMorrow @cjpeilow @LaurenRProbert @harrietsime You’re thinking like journalists now #davidslastday
— Nick Pritchard (@nickjhp) March 27, 2015
8. David fuelling the rivalry between the newspaper option, the broadcasters and maglabbers. (Don’t tell David but we like them really!)
9. The malnourished-looking person or the one who always has a coat on will be branded “the vegetarian”.
10. This look of disappointment.
What do you remember about David?
Just as he asks every executive team member at the end of every production day, we will be asking him later: “what do you pass on to your successor?”
