Here I am with what some have called ‘man flu’ , that is a very bad head cold. I have suffered from real ‘flu so have no difficulty in making the distinction. Real ‘flu is totally disabling ; the distinction is whether you want to take to bed or not, whether you have unexplained aches and pains or not. However a bad cold is somewhat disabling - I wanted to go out yesterday but thought I had better not, partly for fear of giving others my cold , partly so my cold wouldn’t get worse and partly because of the embarrassment of continually using tissues in a public gathering.

A cold makes you feel so low that you imagine that when it is better you will be able to face the world anew,even with the stock market in free fall and financial institutions in a state of collapse  So when it stops you can make those positive resolutions once again. Sorry got to go to blow my nose!