Suzi's latest children's book has just been published in Tanzania. Translated by John Lewis-Barned, these East African folk tales were rewritten by Suzi and are now available in the UK. You can find out more here.

We are gathering together examples of slogans, strap-lines and other bold advertising statements, particularly from owners of well-known brands, where the key message has been blown way off course because of a communications howler or slip up.

Some examples we have come across are:

* "Exculsively yours" in a press advertisement from a well known High Street retailer
* "Fairer prices for fairer skin" (yes, really!) on billboards in the car park of a leading supermarket group (and quickly withdrawn when the unintended implication was pointed out to them)
* "Your 40..." boldly printed on a birthday card

We would love to hear yours. Ultimately we aim to publish these online and will acknowledge all contributors.

The best way for any business to avoid similar mistakes is to hire a firm of professional copywriters who have checked and rechecked what's been written.

Please send your contributions via our contact page

Suzi is currently reading through the entries in the Writing Excellence category for the Communique Awards 2011.

The awards encourage, recognise and commend excellence and best practice in healthcare communications, from initiatives that deliver real improvements in healthcare, build trust with stakeholders and enhance industry reputation.

To read more, click here.

After much thought and discussion we decided to invest in a complete website re-launch to embrace the best thinking in web design and technology and also reflect the way our business has progressed and developed over the last five years or so.

Our thanks go out to Brighton-based Spook Studio who are responsible for the design and technical work: great job - thank you everyone, particularly Laurence.

Please do let us have your comments.

A close friend of ours has recently come home after treatment for cancer. Her story of coping with her colostomy reminds us that there is still a need to improve patient information by moving towards greater honesty and transparency in patient communications and why suppliers need to listen to patients before they sit down to write their medical information and guidance documentation.

While attending another forum about psoriasis, we were particularly moved by the story told by a woman who suffers from the condition and has also recently been treated for cancer. She said that her own experience of having cancer was far less traumatic than living with psoriasis. Shocking!

Pain and adherence to medicines are two common recurring themes in our work and it was particularly interesting for Suzi to attend a Pain Forum on behalf of a healthcare PR agency and listen to the discussion between dentists, GPs and pain specialists about the use of analgesics for pain relief, both over-the-counter remedies and those that are only available from pharmacies. One particularly interesting point that came out of the meeting is that most of us don't take a sufficient dose of analgesics to have any effect because we don't want to take too much. Then we wonder why we are still in pain and frequently resort to codeine-containing medication from the pharmacist that is both unnecessary and potentially addictive.

Suzi looked to the stars for inspiration when writing a feature for a fertility clinic in London after they requested a piece about fertility astrology. Initially sceptical, she has to admit that there does seem to be something in it, judging by the stories from the interviewees some of which are really quite extraordinary. They include cases where people have been trying to have a baby for years, using IVF, but having seen a fertility astrologist they are finally successful. It all seemed wholly convincing, if a little 'out of this world'.

Working with another design house we have just finished writing a book for a private hospital promoting the launch of their new outpatients centre in north London. Whilst this is not the first book we have written, it is the first we have written in just four days from brief to final proof! Thank heavens for caffeine and a home-based office. Never again? Actually it was great fun - perhaps not every week though.

As Spring finally approaches, after a long wet winter, the phones haven't stopped ringing. We're currently working on four projects: a new website for a private hospital about osteoarthritis; a report for a healthcare PR company on psoriasis; an eZine for an insurance provider and any number of medical abstracts which we are reworking for both doctors and patients.