OK - let's look closely at these photos. They were taken today on the public street of a sign for an established educational establishment in Cork - St. John's Central College. Now, if I were going to pay money, any amount of money, to someone or some group to provide me with a service, any service, especially education, I would want them to be able to handle basic constructions in their native tongue without falling at the first hurdle. A college of St. John is written St. John's College, not St. Johns. The random absence of apostrophes in their signage is lamentable and sloppy.
But the real, gobsmacking and, frankly, insulting mess here is that they either a) cannot spell or b) don't care enough to cast even a cursury spell-checking glance over their publications. You see, when this sign went up, they proudly displayed that they are 'St. Johns Central Collage". Putting aside the total lack of the necessary apostrophe, a house of learning, which cannot spell the word 'college', is one to which I do not wish to entrust my education. And one, which, when they eventually realise their error, do not bother to re-do the sign but simply scrape off the offending 'a' and turn it upsidedown, is one indicating an absolute lack of care and pride in their product.
Have a look for yourself and make up your own mind.
By the way, grammar is very important. To borrow from and paraphrase the great Lawrence Durrell, there is a great difference between the following two sentences.
"Lady Chalmsbury has cast off clothes of all descriptions and is inviting inspection."
"Lady Chalmsbury has cast-off clothes of all descriptions and is inviting inspection."
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