Did you get an invite ... or an invitation?

Lots of smiley pictures on today's front pages  ... mainly of Kate Middleton, although bit-player Prince William does appear in half of them. Even the Independent, which could traditionally be relied on to take a cynical view of such extravaganzas, has taken the royal shilling. It's easy to see why the pictures made their way on to every front page ... but what a dull set of headlines. Celebrate our happiest day, A couple smiles for the world, Happiest day of our lives ... they all sound like lines from a boring bridegroom's speech (perhaps they are). Of course it is always hardest to write headlines on stories where nothing has happened. At least The Guardian had a stab at a news angle while  the Independent, quite sensibly, chose not to bother with a headline at all. While we are on about wedding headlines, here's my greying sub gripe of the day. When did the word 'invite' become a noun? I know the tabloids can justify a bit of colloquialism to make it fit but even the BBC, The Daily Telegraph, Independent and the Daily Mail have decided you receive an invite rather than an invitation. I much prefer Ian Hislop's reference to a wedding 'ticket' than the ubiquitous 'invite'. At least The Guardian appears to be fighting a grammatical rearguard action. Anyway, enough of that. I am off to lunch today ... to the Plough with Harveys' Olympia ale, local wild boar on the menu and no TV. Anyone care to join me? No invite, invitation or ticket required.