h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am updating a chapter in a fairly-standard reference book pursuiant to the publication of a new edition in the Autumn.

I am at the late-stage double-checking stage.

I have just run up against the following text - "...thereby facilitating a 'coherent' approach to the..."

The context is "BLAH BLAH BLAH CHANGES IN THE LAW thereby facilitating a 'coherent' approach to the PROBLEM ISSUE BLAH BLAH BLAH".

In fact, the words are mine. I wrote them in 2007 and they made it into the edition. I now think they should have been binned, because they are so so so Blairspeak. Also, what possessed me to put coherent between inverted commas?

Anyhow, reasonable suggestions for jargon-free non-Blairyspeak rewordings will be considered.


Drugless

Dunno. Why is coherent in ''? I think even 4 years ago you were wary of appearing to be a big ponce. Or do the '' make it worse?

I would change 'facilitating' to making. If you really want Nu-Labor-speak then 'coherent' should be 'joined-up'. Also the BLAHs don't make sense (very like Blair-speak?). I would drop them and put in some legal bo**ox instead.

Best wishes to Susan and hope her hip is still improving.

A friend of my parents' had a hip replacement a few years ago (after a cycling accident in the snow). When the nurse came to sign him off she had a list of standard questions:
- can you drive
- can you do your own laundry
- can you make your own meals
His wife commented that he had never been able to do any of those things before the op.

PJ's OH (after a few glasses)

"- can you drive
- can you do your own laundry
- can you make your own meals
His wife commented that he had never been able to do any of those things before the op."

I've worked out that the nearest I have come to actually preparing food, in my last five weeks at home, is opening a tin of grapefruit.

I was out of the house for twelve hours today.

Douglas has just gone to bed with a whisky after wine in town and a beer.

A riled cat has prevented me posting this message for the last four and a half minutes.


Sleep well


Sue