I can't deny that I'm delighted

A little while ago, at this very spot, I aired my feelings about a certain typo. But I like to think that I’ve broadened my perspective since then and become altogether more accepting. After all, ‘human error’ wasn’t coined as a result of just one mistake-prone individual, and this little phrase has bestowed upon us all (thanks to our privileged position within it) a very welcome margin of error in which to operate. And combine this leeway with the academic nature of the written word, and you have a kind of metaphorical playground where there’s – usually – no harm done and little fear of serious reprisal.

Step beyond that sheet of paper or computer screen, and the consequences aren’t always quite so academic, of course. A muddling of the stations Bruxelles-Midi and Bruxelles-Central on my part (and that of my companions – I wasn’t entirely to blame) meant that we recently found ourselves alighting from one train and looking in vain for another. The spectre of a series of ghastly repercussions loomed, but, thankfully, we realised our mistake, executed a quick turn-around, hotfooted it back to the platform and soon made good the error of our ways. It was the real-life equivalent of the ‘undo’ button in action, and in no time at all we were on our way to London aboard the Eurostar. Phew. Even I have to admit to having experienced an adrenalin rush far more powerful than that which follows an inappropriate apostrophe put right.

But to return to that immaterial typo which set me upon this train of thought in the first place: it was a missing ‘a’, notable for its recurring absence on the scrolling announcements of the 7.42 out of Lewes. I had let my thoughts be known, moved on and began the process of acquiring that broader sense of perspective of which I’ve spoken. But one Tuesday morning my eye was snagged by the brand-new presence of that formerly errant letter – now reinstated. I’m not claiming credit for this development, and I’m aware that forces far more powerful (and far less academic) than my idle ramblings are at work in this world, but – whoever or whatever those forces are – I can’t deny that I’m delighted.