Are you busy? After ‘how are you?’ it’s probably the commonest greeting these days. I guess we all want to be busy...

I was never not going to like this book. I enjoy and admire great design, and fascinating facts and little stories...

'Information without perspective is just a higher form of ignorance' - Theodore Dalrymple.

Ears sure do go through a lot. Be it enduring the 7am drilling from the nearby building site, your neighbour’s penchant...

'We're sorry that your flight was cancelled. This must have truly messed up your day, sir.' That's a statement of compassion.

There is no substitute for going to see things for yourself, writes April Redmond, chief marketing officer at Kerry Foods.