the things people say

It pays not to listen to the words people use but rather try to listen for the meaning. Reason? So much utter nonsense is spoken and written and we tacitly assume it does not matter.

For instance, Mr Madonna's Mum:

Madonna's mother-in-law, Ritchie's mother Lady (Amber) Leighton, made no comment to reporters who gathered outside her west London home, saying: "We are not talking to press and we won't be all day."

Made no comment. Other than that one.

My favourite today is the new vision statement from our Chief Executive, communicated to all staff. Apparently:

Our purpose is to Maximise Potential

I'm not entirely sure we need the capital M and P. Possibly because of the upper case H and F in "even High Flyers will be renamed MaxPeople". Hold on, I think I need to throw up...no, no, I'm okay.

I would rather realise potential. Potential, after all, is

1. possible, as opposed to actual: the potential uses of nuclear energy.
2. capable of being or becoming: a potential danger to safety.
3. Grammar. expressing possibility: the potential subjunctive in Latin; the potential use of can in I can go.

I don't think Lewis Hamilton's purpose is to have the potential to be a world champion.