Argh! It's "Should Have", NOT "Should Of"!

I'm not an aggressive enforcer of language by any means. While I hate poor grammar an punctuation, I accept that any living language will naturally change over time as new words are added, old words fall out of common use and meanings change.

That said, certain usages are just plain wrong, no matter how common they are. Most irritating is the use of "should of" instead of "should have". I understand that the confusion comes from shortening "should have" to "should've", which in turns sounds like "should of". But it's wrong. It's obviously wrong. "Should of" does not make grammatical sense!

What's worse is that people are now clearly enunciating "should of" when they speak, and I have read several letters from supposedly-professional firms containing this abomination.

Is there anything that can be done? Is it petty to correct people? Should I just continue to hold my tongue?

All I can say for certain is that anyone misusing language in this way should of paid more attention at school.

The Amazing Spider-Man

The new Spider-Man film seems to be gathering good reviews, which is something of a relief. The original Sam Raimi-directed trilogy ended on a bit of a low note, becoming too camp and busy for its own good, so it's good to see the series being revived and taken in a different direction, focusing on Peter Parker's student years.

In a world where re-boots and re-imaginings are all the rage, it was inevitable that this particular multi-billion dollar franchise would be at the top of the list. It doesn't hurt that donning the web-slinger's costume is Andrew Garfield, one of the freshest new talents of recent years. Maybe it won't quite match up to The Avengers phenomenon but it should do well.

And given how Hollywood likes its films to come in threes nowadays, expect to see some sequels announced very soon...

What is it with England and penalties?

Another major tournament, another defeat on penalties. The England football team really need to break this curse before it completely destroys any confidence.

Italy were undoubtedly the better side last night and deserved to go through, but there was always a glimmer of hope that England might somehow pull it off.

At least my wife put it into perspective when she leaned over during extra tome and said, "You do realise that even if you go through you'll get hammered by Germany?"

And so all I can really say is good luck Italy!

Prof. Brian Cox's Cockcroft Rutherford Lecture 2012

I had the great fortune to be able to attend last night's annual Cockroft Rutherford lecture at Manchester University, delivered by no less than Professor Brian Cox. Unsurprisingly, "A Scientist in the Media" was the best lecture I've been to - but then again I did study a Business degree, so there wasn't too much competition.

Brian did a great job of selling the idea of science being the driving force for humanity's progress, incorporating photos, diagrams and clips of TV shows, starting with Carl Sagan's Cosmos and including a couple of his own, and managing to be not only informative but funny too.

The lecture was apparently webcast so I presume it will be available to watch somewhere, and I'd thoroughly recommend trying to view it if at all possible, as it gave a great insight into Brian's passion for science and its role in the modern world. My only wish was that it could have been longer than an hour.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Last night my wife and I had the fortune of attending a book signing by Carlos Ruiz Zafon at Waterstones in Manchester, organised as publicity for his latest book, The Prisoner of Heaven. It was the first time I'd been to an author event and was a little nervous as to what to expect. Would it be sycophantic and dull? But I can say that I would definitely attend more if they have the promise to be as good. Carlos was pretty much the perfect interviewee - just a short question from the enthusiastic introducer or the audience was enough to prompt a full and interesting response about the life of a professional writer or some interesting nugget about his incredibly popular series. Plus, I'm now the proud owner of a signed and dedicated copy of The Shadow of the Wind, and Magda has her Polish copy of The Angel's Game similarly enhanced. All in all, a good night!

Full of hope for England's Euro 2012

So far so good! England are currently, and perhaps unexpectedly, doing themselves proud in the Euro 2012 football competition. Having drawn with France and just beaten Sweden, they now sit joint-top in their group and need just one point from their next game against Ukraine to progress to the knock-out stages.

There's always a worry with England that they will succumb to nerves or pressure and fail to live up to their significant potential. The World Cup 2010 campaign was a prime example of this - by and large there seemed to be a complete lack of belief, and it appeared as though many players were disenchanted and complacent.

Now, though, England are playing well. A number of injuries has brought forth a wealth of new and fresh talent and the players seem to be once again confident in their abilities. There's no shortage of talent, it's more the case that the players can't seem to tap this reserve.

Whatever happens during Euro 2012, England are playing with their hearts and for this they should be applauded. After all, trying your best is all anyone can ever ask of you. It doesn't really matter if England get knocked out so long as the players give their all. Mind you, lifting the cup wouldn't be all that bad either...