My latest bout of sinusitis comes with a whole new effect: a swollen, red rash on my face that looks like the revenge of fifty years of whisky shots. The lymph nodes under the edge of my jaw are so sore that at first I thought I had matching bilateral toothaches. So now I’m parked in the number two comfy chair (the cats secured the best comfy chair while I was at the Y) to await a call back from the doc’s office.

Just to add to the general joy, my phone is showing signs that it is approaching the end of its service life. I intend to buy my next one outright to avoid the financing costs — a classic rich people’s economy. But even my rudimentary arithmetic skills can cope with calculating the true cost of the “no money down” deal offered by Bell Canada, so I have to make a 40-km pilgrimage to the nearest Apple store. I think that can wait until I feel rather less sick.