Stilltacome! More stuff

Television news and current affairs programmes generally follow a pretty staid formula. True, they have experimented with variations over the years. Person behind desk; two people behind desks; person standing nowhere near a desk; even person standing on a ledge accessed by metal ladder. To liven things up, the talking head(s) in the studio frequently introduce an outside broadcast clip or even have a video chat with a shivering colleague out in the field.

All this effort to keep us watching! And nowadays, they tempt us to keep our fingers off the remote by reciting a list of other items they intend to cover. You know instantly that it’s list-time because they say ‘Stilltacome!’ beforehand. This word is relatively new, and is not used by the general public at all, or even the rest of TV for that matter. Yet we kind of accept it as normal. Imagine if, half way through a dinner party, the host were to exclaim ‘Stilltacome! Bread & Butter Pudding with custard, or cream if you prefer.’

Actually, if it works for television, maybe we should liven up everyday life by adopting the word in ordinary speech. ‘Stilltacome! More reasons why I hate you and wish we had never met.’ Or, ‘Stilltacome! Your change and receipt.’ Or, ‘Stilltacome! A large filling in that lower right molar.’