The birth of SOnews and the meaning of ’salad’

We’ve been asked of late why we use the term Salad in some of the stories we write. So, we thought it’d be an opportune time to turn the clock back and explain.

Around three years ago, an elderly lady who use to run youth clubs was subjected to being burgled whilst asleep. This happened in Thornhill.

On hearing about the incident and recognising that this type of activity was going on, two local lads put their heads together to try and see what they could do to help. They decided that they’d try and deter thieves by simply walking around the estate at night on a Friday. It may not have been much, but visibility of them around the place would surely have to reduce any criminal activity taking place.

In a short space of time, it was clear to the lads that their idea had some ‘legs’ to it. So, they decided to create a Facebook page, SO19 Neighbourhood Watch. It didn’t take long for the following of that to grow and it soon had over 1000 locals actively viewing it. Through the page, volunteers also stepped forward, and in no time, there were groups of people from all walks of life taking time out to ‘patrol’ their local areas and estates.

As the page grew, people started to question the ‘about us’ section and in particular the use of the C word when referring to those responsible for crimes. Thinking on his feet, the person responsible for the page changed it to ‘Salad’, as that was the least offensive term he could think of at the time.

Time passed and things continued to go from strength to strength. Even the media showed an interest in what the community was doing and produced an article. In doing so, they used text from our about us section and published the word Salad too; as a term to describe yobs in the South.

So, that’s where the term Salad came from, and it’s stuck ever since. Even the Urban Dictionary has our definition of the term. In essence though, if you see us write the word, do feel free in your own mind to substitute it for another term.

Fast forward to now, the page has a following of over 10k people. In addition, there are separate Facebook groups for crime and community related things. Added to that, SOnews has been born with stories having reached over 50,000 already.

SOnews is expanding, and at the forefront is the mission to provide local news to local people. Unlike other news sites, SOnews does not and will not charge people to read about what’s going on locally. Similarly, we won’t limit people to how many stories they can read.

Thanks for persevering with our explanation, and in advance for continuing to support us. Do let us know if you’d like us to run a story or share an event; we’d love to be your ‘go to’ for all things local.