War of Words

I have just returned from my lunchbreak (which is an achievement in itself, considering I'm working on the 29th floor this week and, being claustrophobic, I have to take the stairs) and, on my way to the nearby Konditor & Cook for cake, found myself caught in a war of words between the various freesheets now bombarding the pedestrians in London.

Not content with abusing the mentality of every single London citizen with the Metro every morning, Associated Newspapers has also been throwing the Standard Lite (an appalling misuse of spelling) at dinner-timers for the past few years (enticing them to cough up for the Evening Standard on their way home). Last year the diabolically dull City Am was launched, which, from the name downwards, is one of the most boring publications to go to press. Now, with News International having launched The London Newspaper (I refuse to pander to their lower case obscenities), last week, the Standard Lite has rebranded itself with a hideous new masthead and a vile new name, London Lite.

Personally, I feel abused by these glorified press releases, with TV listings attached. They're ugly, poorly designed, poorly written, poorly spelt ('Lite' and lower case titles being just the tip of the iceberg) and, apart from anything else, they're something else to 1) litter the streets of London with as filthy people just chuck them on the pavement, and 2) clog up landfill sites with as people chuck them on the pavement instead of recycling them (see point 1).