Slumped in front of the telly in my usual Monday evening stupor, I was idly watching “University Challenge”, one of my favourite quiz shows, and musing on the usual fodder of Schopenhauer and John Stuart Mill when I was startled awake by hearing a familiar name.

Mine.

Jeremy Paxman asked a question about one of my books. He asked the teams from Loughborough and St. John’s College Oxford: “In a 2005 encyclopaedia on the subject by Gwyn Headley, what are described as ‘the clothes words wear’?”

Loughborough suggested “Adjectives”.

St John’s suggested “Letters”.

Paxman dismissed them; ” No, it’s Fonts; it was The Encyclopaedia of Fonts.”

Well! This is the only publicity that book has ever received. I was astonished, dumbstruck, and you know what my reaction was, sitting with Von and the dog in front of the telly?

I blushed scarlet.

What a strange response. I remember at school if the class was assembled and we were sternly asked “Who’s got Matron pregnant again?” I would always blush to the roots of my hair, even on those occasions when it wasn’t my fault.

It’s sad for me that the cream of student intellect didn’t know the answer, but it would have been hard for the question setters to have unearthed a more obscure book.

“Fonts are the clothes words wear”. What a great line! Such a shame I didn’t write it myself, but borrowed it from Caroline Archer. Still, as long as the book got a credit I can live with that.

Where can I buy it, I hear you shout. Oh, all right: The Encyclopaedia of Fonts by Gwyn Headley, published by Cassell Illustrated on December 15th (thanks a bunch, Cassell and David Inmann) 2005, ISBN 1-84403-206-X

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