I enjoy reading the weekly email newsletter from CTC - the UK's national cyclists' organisation. This week's edition told me that Camden council in London had appointed the UK's first cycling czar. (See Evening Standard article.
I smiled at the image of a bearded Romanov making his way across north London on a bike. I presume that in reality Paul Braithwaite will be the council's cycling coordinator. But at no point does the article say that. It assumes readers will understand what it means by describing Mr Braithwaite as a czar. And why czar? Why not kaiser, emperor or king? Yes, I know that the title is inevitably wheeled out (pardon the pun) whenever the media and governments want to give the impression of forceful leadership. But it's lazy journalism.
It's also tempting fate, given that the last czar of Russia, Nicholas II, was overthrown and then murdered...
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