Don't hang about

1. Sitting down to lunch feeling hungry, the plate of food in front of Bob looked delicious.

2. Being one of those responsible for the Iraq war, Seumas Milne was unforgiving in his criticism of Blair.

Danglers - and both made up by me. It wasn't the plate of food that sat down to lunch, it was Bob. And Seumas Milne has a fair bit to answer for but this doesn't include the Iraq war. David McKie says why it's better to avoid them, even if it's true that 'dangling modifiers have been around in English for hundreds of years'.