Enough is enuff or won canoo 2 many

Canoeing 125 miles through the British countryside, running 76 locks and weirs plus coping with blisters, heatstroke, psychotic swans and drunken pleasure boat owners may not be everyone's idea of fun. But for around 600 committed "paddlers", such is the unique appeal of the Devizes to Westminster international canoe race, held every Easter holiday weekend in Britain.

Billed as the world's toughest canoe race, it was conceived some 60 years ago as a bet in a pub near Devizes. Two scouts doubted whether it would be possible to navigate the then derelict Kennet and Avon canal and the River Thames all the way to London and thus another seemingly foolhardy venture was born.

The first two crews to try took 77 hours to reach London, according to the race Web site www.dwrace.org.uk/. Extensive dredging, lock repairs and improved boat technology mean top kayak pairs and singles can complete the course in as little as 15 hours if they opt for the non-stop contest.

Easter Monday saw all 200 competitors in the singles and junior pairs' stage race rising for the 7am tide at Richmond and a relatively short, 17-mile (27.2 km) blast to Westminster Bridge.

Whilst on the subject of useless activities - the Simplified Spelling Society (SSS) is celebrating its 99th birthday by launching a new campaign to make it easier to read and write English.

English may be the world's most universal language but linguistic experts say it has failed to adapt for the last 500 years and now half the globe's English speakers have difficulty spelling.

With texts and e-mails revolutionising the way we communicate, SSS secretary John Gledhill says the time is ripe for phonetic reform and spelling simplification. "Texts cut away the complications and take away the stigma of not being able to use an obsolete spelling," Gledhill said. The SSS message is that: "You can change the spelling without spoiling the language. People are scared of change and don't realise it is normal in language."

Sounds like an excuse for sloppiness to me. Most things that are worthwhile in life take some time to master but there is a no more permanent a demonstration of a poor education (or at least laziness in not using a dictionary or spell-checker) than poor spelling (see many eBay adverts).