Spellbound

I have had the pleasure in recent weeks to laugh out loud when I open one of the newspapers. That's what howlers should make you do. Now I wonder if they are just going into intensive training for some competition, such as an April Fool contest.

So what do I get on today's front page of The Barbados Advocate? "More women are being encouraged to explore political opportunities...". Yes! I should have stopped there. I read on. This encouragement came at a panel discussion at ... the... Dinning Club.... My eyes rolled back to the sentence. The what? I found a definition in Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, which derives from "din" and is related to making a loud noise. The other reference, was to mis-spelling of "dining" that I found in the Urban Dictionary.

I could have let "wimmen" slide if that had appeared as that misspelling of "women" has gained some currency, albeit in mocking or self-mocking form in song and literature (see an example with Wimmen's comix magazine). But "dinning"? That I cannot swallow easily.

How am I supposed to pronounce it anyway? It is said like "din-ing" or is it really "dinn-ing" as if I am ringing or dinging a dinner bell? Time for din-dins!

If there is such a place as the "Dinning" Club in Barbados I will gladly eat my words without any whining (or is it wining?). I will admit that I bit off more than I could chew and never make the mistake again of thinking that someone cannot spell. I could find "Dining Club" in the phone directory, that other source on which I would lean heavily

So, I will pass a part of today with more than a slight smile on my face waiting to hear if this causes a little din in the island affectionately referred to as Bim.