The TLS – unfortunately only the print edition – is soliciting Poems for Tony. It tantalizes with snippets from a poem by Penelope Shuttleworth entitled ‘On the Silence of Tony Blair, Following the Execution of Saddam Hussein’, which ends with words given to Blair, ‘I’ll just say, as one power-star to another, / Farewell and Hail, / I just know we shall see your like again’. The whole thing is apparently in the spring edition of The Rialto.

The TLS also recommends She Literally Exploded: The “Daily Telegraph” Infuriating Phrasebook, by Christopher Howse and Richard Preston. To quote the publisher’s blurb on amazon.co.uk:

I’ll let you go now – But you’ll buttonhole me later.
Inappropriate – Used by officials who want to blame people for behaviour that is not illegal or forbidden. The patient used an inappropriate tone when raising issues around ward cleanliness.
Jus – gravy.
Pan-fried – instead of being fried in an old dustbin-lid.
Serving suggestion – On the label of a prepared meal, a warning that the plate, tablecloth, and accompanying boar’s head shown in the picture are not included in the small plastic container.