What’s in a name?

Quite a lot, it would appear, if it is Uranus. A collection of shops along the southern edge of the famed Route 66 in Pulaski County in Missouri goes by this name. Manna from heaven to marketeers, it would seem.

The website claims that “There is a lot to do in and around Uranus” and the fudge shop, the only establishment I would set foot in, regales their clientele with the information that “the best fudge comes out of Uranus.”

The area’s local Newspaper, the Waynesville Daily Guide, has recently closed down, another victim to the impact that social meejah and the internet has had on local organs. Spotting a hole in the market, the self-styled mayor of Uranus has announced that a new paper, the Uranus Examiner, will be launched, the first edition scheduled for 15^th October.

Louie Keen, whose brain child it is, has not gone so far as to promise that it will lead the way in scoops and get to the bottom of local issues but I’m sure it will and it will be regular.

Civic pride, embarrassment at the amusement value of the name of the hamlet and just a basic lack of a sense of humour has meant that news of the proposed journal has created a bit of a shit storm in the locality.

A shame really as I think the name has a ring to it.

There is no such thing as bad publicity. I wish it every success.