Portrait of a wazzock

The photograph is of Judge  John Foster who has banned the use of the word 'Love' (or Luv, as pronounced in Yorkshire) in his Barnsley court.

The judge prefers the poncy southern expression 'ma'am'.

What a wazzock (idiot). The use of this word in appropriate in this context as there is a body of opinion that the word was used first by a football spectator in Barnsley to describe a particularly poor referee.

There is a counter-claim that the word was the inspiration of one of Sheffield's finest, Tony Capstick.

Will the next words to be banned be thou, thar and thee?  I wouldn't be surprised, luv.

See links below for press reports.  I like particularly the second one.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8840968/Yorkshire-judge-under-fire-for-banning-love-in-courtroom.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8841179/Judges-ban-on-love-in-court-risks-eroding-traditional-Yorkshire-dialect.html

From the second link:

He might have lived in Yorkshire for many years but he must have been cloistered from the real world, as the term ‘love’ can be heard on a daily basis, used by men and women to men, women and children with no sexual overtones whatsoever. ‘Duck’ has a similar application in the Nottingham area.