Towards the End of the Morning (1967) by Michael Frayn. His funniest novel in my opinion. Anyone who worked in the typewriter days of newspapers will click with this as old meets new in the expanding world of media.
We used to watch Percy Thrower on the telly. He always wore a collar and tie like the old head gardeners. His one was: The answer lies in the soil. It became a bit of a mantra.