Letters of Annoyance

Letter of Annoyance

Published in The London Free Press
November 9, 2001

Dear Editor,

We would like to register our growing annoyance at a current outdoor advertising campaign.

Some time ago we noticed the first billboard, which read: "There's life in the Forest City." We were willing to overlook this penetrating glance into the incredibly obvious when we believed that it was an anomaly. Clearly, some city functionaries had mistakenly approved an inane slogan. No harm done, except perhaps to the reputations of the aforementioned functionaries and the advertising firm they hired.

Today, with mounting horror, we observed the second sign, outlining another conspicuous reality: "There's growth in the Forest City."

What's next? "There's movement in the Forest City?" "There's reproduction in the Forest City?" "There are trees in the Forest City?"

Presumably, Londoners are aware that our city is part of the Earth's biosphere. Are there those who believe the Forest City is a barren wasteland incapable of sustaining life?

We must admit that this could be the perception in Toronto. If so, this campaign will best serve Londoners by posting the billboards there. Of course, we'll have to replace the words "Forest City" with "London, Ontario."

Otherwise we would be wasting the taxpayer's money.

Yours sincerely,

Mark A. Rayner, Esq.,
On behalf of the Emily Chesley Reading Circle

Note: In a ham-fisted bit of editing, the Free Press editors decided to rewrite the letter in the singular, and deleted all references to The Emily Chesley Reading Circle.


					Letters of Annoyance
	Published Letters There are inane slogans in the Forest City! (The London Free Press) Stop with the lists already! (National Post) Re: 'proactive' (Globe & Mail) The Year 2000 (Globe & Mail)				Letter of Annoyance Published in The London Free Press November 9, 2001 Dear Editor, We would like to register our growing annoyance at a current outdoor advertising campaign. Some time ago we noticed the first billboard, which read: "There's life in the Forest City." We were willing to overlook this penetrating glance into the incredibly obvious when we believed that it was an anomaly. Clearly, some city functionaries had mistakenly approved an inane slogan. No harm done, except perhaps to the reputations of the aforementioned functionaries and the advertising firm they hired. Today, with mounting horror, we observed the second sign, outlining another conspicuous reality: "There's growth in the Forest City." What's next? "There's movement in the Forest City?" "There's reproduction in the Forest City?" "There are trees in the Forest City?" Presumably, Londoners are aware that our city is part of the Earth's biosphere. Are there those who believe the Forest City is a barren wasteland incapable of sustaining life? We must admit that this could be the perception in Toronto. If so, this campaign will best serve Londoners by posting the billboards there. Of course, we'll have to replace the words "Forest City" with "London, Ontario." Otherwise we would be wasting the taxpayer's money. Yours sincerely, Mark A. Rayner, Esq., On behalf of the Emily Chesley Reading Circle Note: In a ham-fisted bit of editing, the Free Press editors decided to rewrite the letter in the singular, and deleted all references to The Emily Chesley Reading Circle.
					The Emily Chesley Reading Circle was established to further the study of Emily Chesley, a long-overlooked Canadian speculative fiction writer of the late-Victorian period, who lived for some time in the London, Ontario region. Letters of Annoyance and Letters of Approval are produced by the Circle as a service to the public. Join our mailing list Email: or send us email. All written material, graphics, logo, and html coding © copyright 2003-2005 The Emily Chesley Reading Circle Web Monkey : Mark A. Rayner