Why?

Ha! I have too many to list. But my biggest (today, at least) has to be 'women who wear very high heels and don't know how to walk in them'. Ffs, if you're going to wear four-inch stillettos with your mini-skirt, at least learn how to strut in 'em! None of this knock-kneed, hunched-over tottering about, looking like they're about to break some important bone.

I am my own pet hate today. Nearly everything I've been doing today has pissed me off, though I admit I don't phlegm up in libraries and I can't walk in high heels and don't even try. Am now going to the hairdresser when I'm meant to be working. Ridiculous.

Working *is* ridiculous. I try to do it as little as possible.

Other people. I hate other people.

Me too. Except I also fall in love with some of them, the bastards.

Old men who fart in libraries makes me laugh. Poor sods must have a dilemma when they want to hire something but have to face the fact that the environment is going to amplify this little problem they have. Either that or they just don't give a crap. My biggest pet hate is people talking (in any situation) - now that pisses me off. There's nothing more mind-teasing than the incomprehensible eagerly avowed - Dennett

Excessive aftershave. I've a friend who douses himself in the stuff and if he gives me one of those friendly cheek kisses that are so common in the circles I move within these days, I reek of it for the rest of the evening. jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

Oh and crap tea making skills. Why is it that so many folk, intelligent in every other respect, shag up such a simple process with the vacant ineptitude of a participant on TVs Crystal Maze? jude "Cacoethes scribendi" http://www.judesworld.net

Nose pickers at work! Not only does it look vile, but their nose’s contents aren’t going into a tissue/bin and other people are around, so it ain’t nice! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a female at work picking her nose – it’s always blokes around 30 or above, for some reason!

Jude, may I offer my apologies now in case I ever get to meet you as I am considered (by my family and friends) to be the worlds worst cup of tea maker. My pet hate is work colleagues who consider themselves to be above the rules.

Hot water. Tea bag. How can one possibly go wrong?

You've gone wrong already Foster, the water must be boiling or just boiled. Merely hot water won't cut it.

God yes, it’s easy to ruin tea. On one of the budget airlines, all the tea arrives in these huge plastic cups emblazoned with the PG Tips logo. Trouble is, the water is never near hot enough and all you get this foul frothy dishwater. Quite an own goal for PG Tips. Which reminds me, I heard a story in the paper about an elderly lady who was being assessed as to her mental capabilities. A young social worker wrote a report which said she was showing signs of confusion. He cited the fact that she had boiled a kettle of water to make tea, poured some of it into a tea pot and then, without doing anything else, poured it straight down the sink. (She then added tea leaves and more boiling water) I guess the social worker was too young to realise she was pre-heating the pot. ~ www.fabulousmother.com

Okay, we're getting a bit more involved, now. Preheated pot, boiling or just boiled water (careful not to use dishwater), tea bag. Still seems fairly simple. Very proud of myself for catching (and understanding) the soccer/football reference, Lou.

(Trying to sound like an Oscar Wilde quote:) "A TEA BAG?" I think you need to read my self-help pamphlet "Tea - Keeping it Real", in which I enthuse (infuse?) about the benefits of real tea leaves.

Enjoyment of tea is subjective..... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha There's nothing more mind-teasing than the incomprehensible eagerly avowed - Dennett

*hands 'jolly good show' sticker to Foster* I've got a pet hate - irrational bloody hand luggage security restrictions. So we can now take on gooey stuff or liquid in containers of no more than 100ml. Fair enough. They have to be all together in a transparent plastic bag. Fair enough. Said plastic bag can have no more than one litre capacity. Okaaaay - I'm guessing you could put a bigger one over someone's head? The plastic bag must be re-sealable. They put 're-sealable' in bold and suggest ziplock. Why? Why the fuss about re-sealing it. Is it just the authorities think we need reminding that it's handy to be able to do a bag up so things don't fall out? Or is there some specific reason? If I tie a knot in the end of an ordinary plastic bag, am I going to get some Jobsworth from security telling me I can't board the plane? Usually I'd think, nah they wouldn't, but after they confiscated my near empty stick of mascara last time, I wouldn't be so sure. ~ www.fabulousmother.com

Oh and Foster, you'd love this book I have. It's a reprint of the US War Department's 'Instructions to American Servicemen in Britain 1942.' It warns them about all the potential misunderstandings over vocabulary amongst other things. It's very funny and really quite poignant in places. Here's a relevant quote regarding tea: "The British don't know how to make a good cup of coffee. You don't know how to make a good cup of tea. It's an even swap..." ~ www.fabulousmother.com