When Peter Preston became features editor of the Guardian, a breath of fresh air swept through the department, often fanned by the growing use of puns in headlines. I believe the features staff once scored seven out of 10 winning entries in a New Statesman competition to give great moments of history Guardian headlines – such as “An ’arrowing experience” for the Norman Conquest.
Punning became too easy and sometimes went over the top, as indicated in a memo sent by Preston, calling for thought, freshness and wit, while noting that: “Too often, however, there is a mechanical clunking as a formula is repeated.” When it was passed on to me, I pinned it to the noticeboard with the headline “Preston pans”.
