Numbers, measures and money
Spell out numbers below 10: one, nine, first, fourth, 17th, 123rd, 999, in their 30s, 50-somethings.
million, billion, trillion: abbreviate to m, bn, tn for currencies (e.g. £10m, $97bn, Є2.4tn); otherwise write out in full (200 million cars, two billion people, 40 trillion stars).
Money
Use figures at all times with currency signs and abbreviations: £1, $2. Always convert a foreign currency to sterling on first mention.
Only pounds, United States dollars and the euro take symbols in general news and feature copy. All other currencies are anglicised on first mention: e.g. Indian rupees, Canadian dollars, Chinese renminbi. When it has been established which currency is being referred to, these abbreviations may be used: Australia A$, Canada C$, India Rs, Israel Shl, Japan Y, Saudi Arabia SR, South Africa R, Switzerland Sfr.
If referring to pre-decimal British coinage, use the following abbreviations: £ for pound, s for shilling and d for pence as in £7 15s 6d.
Weights and measurements
Use metric for measuring shorter distances (centimetres and metres) and spaces (sq cm, sq metres) but miles for longer distances and sq miles for larger spaces. Avoid using yards unless for good reason. Litres for water, pints for beer and milk.
Use stones and pounds when weighing people (12st 7lb), kilograms when weighing objects. Feet and inches for people (6ft 7in). Aeroplanes fly at 30,000ft rather than 9,000m. Prefer feet for mountains
For common weights and measures, use the abbreviations g, kg, m, cm, mm, oz, lb, st, cwt, in, ft, yd after numerals from two upwards.
Do not abbreviate acres, miles, pints, gallons. One pound, less than a hundredweight, a few ounces, 7lb, 5st, 10st 5lb, 5lb 7oz. Two miles, 27 miles, two acres, 125 acres, 2ft, 2ft 3in, 3yd. 10m, 10cm, 10mm; 50g, 2kg.
Usually it is not necessary to distinguish between the ton (imperial, 2240lb) and the tonne (metric ton of 1,000 kilograms = 2,204.6lb). Use tons unless the small difference is important.
Fractions
Use half, quarter, three quarters, third, fifth, eighth in preference to decimals in general copy. Use decimals when they aid comprehension or comparison, but not with imperial measurements: e.g. write 3ft 9in rather than 3.75 feet, or 6lb 8oz not 6.5lb. Do not use decimals and fractions in the same story except when necessary in financial copy. In money markets all dealings are in fractions. Write 2¼.
If it is necessary to use oddities such as two one-hundredths of a second, ensure that the use of the hyphen and the word 'one' prevents confusion with two hundredths. Two 100ths of a second or 200th of a second are ugly, but may be necessary.
Per cent
Abbreviate to pc in Business/Money articles and headlines. Spell out in news, features etc. So 1pc (not one pc), 2.6pc, 30-40pc, 300pc etc. Use % only in tables.
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Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Jeremy Clarkson: Why does any plane need a fuel cut-off switch?
Whenever Lisa and I board an aeroplane, we are usually pretty confident that it will land safely because between us, we've walked away from three crashes over the years. Both mine involved broken landing gear and were fairly minor but hers was a proper shunt. She was the only passenger in a Learjet that careered off the end of the runway at Northolt and on to the A40, where it was hit so hard by a van that it split in two. It's amazing no one was killed and if you google the images, you'll see what I mean. But whatever, the upshot is that the law of averages suggests we are unlikely to be involved in any such thing again, which is why we can both enjoy the champagne and the food, and settle smoothly into a state of deep relaxation. And there's more too, because these days we've come to understand that flying in a plane is safer than driving to the airport. They are flown by computers and if they fail, there are two humans on hand to take control. And they're not just any old humans. They're pilot humans. So they have reassuring one-syllable Christian names and three-syllable surnames. And they have reassuring voices too so even the most terrifying announcement sounds like a breeze. 'Hello ladies and gentlemen. It's first officer Mike Anderson here. Don't be alarmed by the noise you just heard. One of the engines has fallen off but we have the situation in hand now and I trust you're not in too much distress.' You then have another glass of fizz and go back to sleep. However, after the Air India crash a couple of weeks ago and the preliminary report into what caused it, I must say that the next time I get on an aeroplane I will have a moment of doubt. Because now I know that the buttons which shut down the fuel to the engines are located between the pilots, right next to the throttles. Why put them there? I once made an expansive gesture at a friend's Sunday morning drinks party and the consequences of my exuberance were fairly terrible, because I sent a tray of four bloody marys cascading through the room, covering everyone and everything in a thick layer of tomato juice. That was bad, but now we discover that if a pilot makes a similar gesture while flying a plane it's not just a few drinks that get spilled. There's a period of silence followed by some G-force and lots of fire. Surely then, the switches for something as critical as fuel getting to the engines should be tucked away somewhere, in a locked safe perhaps, under the pilot's seat. Or how's this for an even better idea? Don't fit fuel cut-off switches in the cockpit at all. Because I've racked my brains and I cannot think of a single occasion when you'd need them. 'Hey Mike. Do you think the passengers would sleep more soundly if there was less noise?' No one's ever said that. No one ever will. And nor has any boss written to his flight crew urging them to save the airline money by trying to take off using nothing but some rosaries and a dollop of hope. Think about it in terms of your car. What if there was a switch right next to the heater knob that disengaged the steering? You'd do your damnedest to never knock it by accident but eventually, you'd start to wonder: 'Why would I ever want to have no steering? And why is there a stalk right next to the indicator which turns off the brakes?' Or at home. You have two side-by-side switches in your kitchen. One turns the lights on. The other ignites the gas tank. I think part of the problem here is that industry is becoming stupidly obsessed with giving customers a level of choice they simply don't need. In my car, for example, I'm able to select the colour of the interior lighting from a palate that makes Farrow & Ball's look mean-spirited. And at home, I have a controller that allows me to make each room a different temperature, and for that temperature to change up to four times a day. In a modern tractor, the farmer is given a bewildering array of buttons and now each of those buttons can be tailored to do something different. And if you look at a steering wheel in a modern Formula 1 car, you realise that the driver can, as he goes along, make his car feel like a Morris Marina. Or even a food blender. And even those have become way too complicated. You bought it because you like to liquefy your vegetables and now you can choose from a vast menu of options that are just annoying. Tech designers can't help themselves. They see that something is possible, so they provide it, whether anyone needs it or not. And that brings us back to the world of aviation. The old jumbo had 10,000 switches, dials and gauges in the cockpit, all of which were necessary because it was a big analogue Heffalump. But modern planes aren't. They have glass screens, so in theory all the panels could be as smooth and as uncluttered as a Swede's kitchen sideboard. But no geek is going to allow that. He's going to give the pilots choices. Does he want to control the plane from the glass screen or in the old-fashioned way and whoa, how cool would it be to fill that panel over there with switches and choices as well? So on a modern-day commercial jet, the roof panel alone has over 200 buttons. And this is on a machine that only ever needs to go up, down, left or right. Small wonder then that when the tech wizards got to the central console, where the thrust levers are located, they thought: 'Wow. We could fill that up with options. So let's have two switches which allow the pilot to turn the bloody fuel supply to the engines off.'
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Semifreddo and granita: Jacob Kenedy's recipes for Italian summer desserts
Here are two recipes that I've been eating at home with my family since even before the warmer weather started to make me smile: a tiramisu semifreddo and a granita, the Sicilian iced slush (made from fresh fruit juice, nut milks or coffee) that is is the Slush Puppie's distinguished aunt. The ultimate refreshers on a sunny day at any time of the year. Prep 5 min Cook 45 min Freeze 6 hr+ Serves 10 6 eggs, separated350g caster sugar250g mascarpone200ml whipping or double cream200ml espresso90ml rum, or brandy or marsala 60g cocoa powder, plus 1 tsp extra for dusting16-20 savoiardi biscuits First, mix the egg whites with 150g of the caster sugar in a small saucepan and stir over a low heat until steaming hot (70C). Transfer to a stand mixer, whip on high speed until completely cool with stiff peaks, then transfer to a clean bowl. Whisk the egg yolks and 100g sugar in a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water, beating constantly, until voluminous and hot. Move the bowl on to a bowl of iced water and whisk again until cool. Add the mascarpone and whisk again until completely incorporated. Whip the cream on medium-low to soft peaks, then fold it into the mascarpone mix. Gently fold in the whipped egg whites. In a separate bowl, stir the espresso with the remaining 100g sugar and your chosen booze. Line a two-litre container with clingfilm and, using a tea strainer, sift a quarter of the cocoa powder over the base. Gently spread about a third of the mascarpone cream on top of the cocoa. One by one, dip half the sponge fingers in the boozy espresso syrup, soaking them thoroughly, then arrange in a neat layer on top of the mascarpone cream. Dust with another quarter of the cocoa powder, then top with another third of the mascarpone cream. Repeat with a second layer of soaked biscuits and another quarter of the cocoa powder. Top with the remaining third of the mascarpone cream and dust the top with the remaining cocoa powder. Freeze for about six hours or more, until completely set. Just before serving, turn out the semifreddo on to a cool platter, dust with the remaining teaspoon of cocoa powder, then slice and serve. Here, I use pomegranate – a favourite fruit and emblem of Sicily – but you can use any fruit juice you fancy (or berries blended with a tiny amount of water). As with all the best recipes that call for few ingredients and minimal intervention, the quality of the granita is solely dependent on the quality of the pomegranates: look for ones with a deep, purplish garnet colour to their seeds. Prep 25 min Freeze 4 hr+ Makes About 1 litre 2kg whole pomegranates, or 1.2kg pomegranate seeds, or 1 litre pomegranate juice (look for one that is 100% pomegranate juice, and ideally not from concentrate)100g white sugar First, pick the seeds from the pomegranates, discarding any of the cream-coloured membrane, which is very bitter. Transfer the seeds to a food processor (not a blender, which would pulp the pips and release their bitterness) and whizz until the pips are still whole, but released from their crystalline flesh. Strain through a sieve, pressing to extract all the juice, then stir in the sugar until dissolved. Transfer to a wide dish and put it in the freezer. Once it starts to freeze at the edges, and every 10-15 minutes thereafter, stir with a fork or whisk, and repeat until it's almost completely frozen and icy; this should take about four hours in all. The granita is ready to serve in this slightly wet, slushy state, but if you want to keep it longer, leave the granita to freeze solid, then take it out to thaw for 20 minutes or so before serving, then break it up with a fork. Jacob Kenedy is chef and owner of Gelupo, Bocca di Lupo and Plaquemine Lock, all in London
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Wednesday's Lotto jackpot estimated at £8.7m after no weekend winners
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