I have had a cold for the past couple of days and I have been absolutely miserable. I worked my way through a full box of tissues and a Covid test (negative) while mainlining lempsip. When I am sick I completely fail to remember what it is like to be well and I think that I will be in the slough of despond forever. However, today I am much improved and the weather is a bit springy and I think I may survive after all. A corollary of my problem with being sick is that when I am well, I completely forget what it is like to be ill and think, “It would be nice to be in bed sick and just flick through a magazine”. Of course, it’s not nice because you’re sick. Though I have to say, I am quite indignant that I should be sick on my break from work. It’s like being sick on holidays; quite wrong. A further problem with my inability to remember what it is like to be ill is that I am quite unsympathetic when family members are ill. Intellectually, I sympathise but I just can’t remember what it’s really like; I’m sure I would be much more sympathetic if I could remember the pain.