Angela Epstein

You can tell a lot about a person by their reaction to traffic wardens. Those of a mellow, reflective bent may find their minds drifting to the Beatles' affectionate pursuit of Lovely Rita, the meter maid. Otherwise, the sight of ticket wardens in sensible shoes and with expressions of fixated intent prowling our city centres can trigger a more visceral response. They're more than jobsworths. They're traffic Nazis! The word Nazi is trivialised If you've been habitually stung by plastic pouches left under the wipers you may see no problem in that. Just as spectres of the Third Reich are summoned to blast grammar Nazis or lockdown Nazis, isn't this the best way to describe extreme and unnecessary enforcement? And it's only a word. Should it even matter? Yes. It should.

Of the many characters created by the peerless Victoria Wood, one creation in particular lingers in the mind: namely the immaculately polished, but unashamedly snobbish television continuity announcer, who, with an assassin's smile, treated her audience with utter contempt. 'We'd like to apologise to viewers in the North. It must be awful for them,' was one of her more cutting remarks. The hon hon hon bonhomie of French surnames – step forward President Macrrrrrron – is hard to take seriously Coming from Manchester, Wood was clearly making mischief with counterintuitive comedy. She was taking aim at how crisp, received pronunciation can make anything sound plausible.