I don't normally follow goings-on in the world of Scrabble, but listening to a recent interview left me slightly gobsmacked.

It was a chat with an American gentleman, who seemed very pleasant and was in charge of issuing the latest official list of words that you can use when playing competitive Scrabble.

As you can imagine, languages change all the time, and the English language (and even that peculiar variation used in America) changes more than most. So, as new terms become accepted into the parlance of our times, words are constantly being added to the lexicon of point-scoring possibilities. Scrabble players no doubt rush to eagerly memorise these new entries, scouring the list for Qs, Js and whatever else leads to those big-point bonanzas.

One thing you are not allowed in Scrabble is proper nouns: names of places, people, businesses, that sort of thing, words that would regularly be written with capital letters.

And that was where I was left a bit gobsmacked.

Apparently, the Divine Committee of The Scrabble Board, or whatever the American dude's organisation was, has decided that the word ‘jandal' is not acceptable.

This is because – they claim – it is in fact a proper noun and is – they claim – only to be found in written sources as ‘Jandal'. It appears that Skellerup trademarked the name in 1957.

And, claimed the dude, there was no evidence of the word jandal being used 'commonly” to describe the article of footware, only in its trademarked sense as (presumably) Skellerup Jandals. It was up to – he said – New Zealand Scrabble players to register their dissent, and The Committee would consider a change.

So, come on, what's wrong with New Zealand Scrabble players? Are you all a pack of subservient wimps? Why no international protest? Why aren't you turning in your boards in disgust? What we have here is surely nothing less than the crushing of a small Pacific island's culture by a debt-ridden overreaching superpower. This aggression will not stand!

And before I get in danger of overreacting to this slight on our national heritage, let me move along to the more sedate subject of music, and some gigs that may be of interest.

Here we go: next Friday out in Katikati the Folk Club is hosting Cloudstreet, an Australian duo comprising John Thompson and Nicole Murray, who, as well as performing at festivals all over Oz, have toured the UK several times to great acclaim. They play Aussie, English and Celtic folk tunes as well as their own, harmony singing supported by acoustic guitar and Irish flute, and they come very highly recommended. You can find out more about them at www.cloudstreet.org.

Then, the following Friday (August 19), the Nairobi Trio is returning to town. It's been a while since the band visited Tauranga and their slick brand of violin/guitar swing, vocal harmonies and superb musicianship is always welcomed. They are coming, for the first time, to the Art Gallery, which should be a lovely space in which to enjoy their music. Limited tickets are $30 from the gallery and you better get them early because there will be no door sales on the night.

There are also a pile of relatively unheralded things happening on a regular basis around town. Drivers Bar on 11th Avenue may be a ‘sports bar', but it has been finding great success with its regular jam sessions. It currently has four – all in different flavours – each month.

Next up is the Blues Jam, which is on Wednesday, August 10 starting at 8pm. That's followed by the Country Music Jam on Sunday, August 14 (4pm) and later in the month there's the Classic Rock Jam (August 24, 8pm) and Weekend Warriors Jam (August 28, 4pm). All of these are well attended and – depending on your musical tastes – a whole bunch of fun.

Then there's Brazilian restaurant Armazem at the Mount, which seems to be becoming a home for jamming and percussion-based music. They have sessions late on Thursday (starting at 10pm), which are becoming rather legendary, as well as Sunday afternoons. Sometimes it's bands, sometimes a free-for-all. And they take some sort of a prize for being the only place in town where can you enjoy music while eating fried chicken hearts. No kidding.