Heraldry Society AGM Descends Into Chaos Over Proposed Emoji Tincture System

The annual general meeting of the Heraldry Society devolved into what the official minutes describe as 'an atmosphere of considerable agitation' after the youth outreach committee proposed adopting emoji as a supplementary tincture notation system. The proposal, presented by committee chair Sophie Hatching, 24, suggested that emojis could make blazonry more accessible to younger audiences. Under the proposed system, Azure would be represented by a blue circle emoji, Gules by a red circle, Or by a yellow circle, and so forth. 'Traditional hatching — the system of lines used to indicate tinctures in black and white — was itself a technological adaptation,' Hatching argued. 'Petra sancta notation was revolutionary in the 17th century. Emoji is simply the next logical step.' The response from the membership was immediate and overwhelmingly negative. 'Over my dead body,' said Emeritus Fellow Harold Paly, 78, who then delivered an unscheduled twenty-minute address on the 'sacred integrity of Petra sancta notation' that received a standing ovation from approximately two-thirds of the room. Other objections were more specific. 'There is no emoji for Tenné,' noted one member. 'There is no emoji for a bordure engrailed. There is no emoji for a lion passant guardant. The entire system collapses after the first five tinctures.' Hatching countered that 'the system was intended as a gateway, not a replacement,' but acknowledged that 'the room did not appear ready for this conversation.' The proposal was defeated by a vote of 342 to 7, with the seven supporters later identified as the entire youth outreach committee and one member who misunderstood the motion. The Society has since doubled funding for its traditional hatching education programme.