Isn't it odd how words go out of fashion? Take 'league' for example. Not only is it almost unheard of to hear it used to express a distance, but its other meaning (a bond or alliance) is fast becoming outdated as well.

I can think of three example in the animal charity world where 'league' has been dropped from the name. The National Canine Defence League has become the Dogs' Trust, the International League for the Protection of Horses is now World Horse Welfare, and the Cats' Protection League is now simply Cats' Protection. I think the last is the saddest. Surely they could have come up with a whole new name like the others, not just dropped the offending and unfashionable word! It smacks of laziness to me.

Even the League Against Cruel Sports is suffering. They say it's because of the hunting ban, but I feel it's down to their persistence in sticking to an unfashionable word in their name. As for television, when the only programme in recent years to use the word was a comedy (the League of Gentlemen) it set the seal on the poor old league's coffin. It's a joke, an anachronism, a relic. It just Won't Do. So look out, you ladies who run hospital League of Friends shops, you will be next!