Butlins and the return of the apostrophe – Spectator Blogs

When you begin in subediting – the odd little craft of preparing other people’s journalism for publication – certain things, or pairs of things, are drummed into you. St James’ Park is where Newcastle United play; St James’s Park is where the band of the Grenadier Guards play. Lloyds is the bank; Lloyd’s is the insurance market. Pontin’s has an apostrophe; Butlins doesn’t.

Unfortunately for subeditors, times change. St James’ Park is now the Sports Direct Arena, although a similar deal has yet to be done for St James’s Park. Lloyds has acquired TSB and been acquired, in turn, by the government. Pontins has emerged from financial difficulties, but it has done so minus an apostrophe. And Butlins? Butlins is now a difficult case.

I went and checked on the state of its orthography this week while proofreading Toby Young’s very funny column on middle-class camping (he concludes, for those of you who have yet to subscribe, by saying ‘It would be Butlin’s next year if I had my way’).