Today's Lessons and Irritations.

I learned from my long-deceased Irish friend, Mr O’Brien, that I habitually use the figures of speech known as litotes and meiosis in my writing, especially in contexts where they’re effectively synonymous. I doubt that many people reading this statement will have a clue what either term means, which affords me a fraudulent sense of superiority because neither did I until about fifteen minutes ago.

Another strange dog leapt affectionately at me today (strange in the sense that I’d never seen it before, but actually rather handsome), leaving muddy marks on my £250 coat purchased from a posh coat shop a mere five years ago. It being easily the most expensive coat I’ve ever had, I couldn’t decide whether to be pleased by the gesture or irritated by the effect. I settled on both.

Two emails arrived in quick succession from two employees of a damnable denizen of the corporate world. They both irritated me mightily. One I considered beneath contempt and therefore ignorable, the other occasioned much gnashing of teeth and a modicum of unwelcome employment at an inconvenient time.

I performed the first trimming job of the season in the garden, and learned that the wrist pain which began last autumn is not only still with me but is worse than it was last autumn. I suspect this will continue to irritate until next November, assuming I make it that far.

It rained unexpectedly. This was the least of the irritations.

A pretty woman from America loved my comment on her YouTube channel, which failed to irritate me at all. I thought it unusual not be irritated by something.

Alcohol and the daily YouTube session now beckon, so that’s probably it for today.