How to lose sales and put your reader to sleep

Words and phrases bad writers love – common among large firms, politicians, journalists, top executives – and second rate copywriters This is by no means a complete list – and I am sometimes guilty myself. Don’t hesitate to send me more examples. Wordsmith …

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New store sells husbands

(They couldn’t find any takers for  me. I’m in the damaged goods basement) A store that sells new husbands has opened. The instructions at the entrance explain how the store operates: You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are …

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Makes you proud to be British

How many heads of state would allow this bang slap opposite their pad? You may have noticed a blessed period of silence from this old motor-mouth. The reason is that first I went to speak in Tehran – an exhausting …

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The Godzilla effect: when Mammon fails, try this

This makes me uneasy. Reminds me of those creepy tele-evangelists. What do you think? I’m actually writing this in a hotel near Istanbul Airport called the Gonen, going through my emails. Compared to the ghastly places near Heathrow or JFK …

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