Humour: Less than perfect

I’m writing this staring out of a picture window in the hills, hearing the evening choir of excitable birds. I should be beside myself with joy, but instead all I can think of is how difficult it is to spell the word “squawk”. No, seriously. Try it yourself. Shut your eyes and imagine a persistent magpie, splashing about in a birdbath. Now give the spelling a shot. A simple “squawk” tests not just your spelling skills but also your much vaunted confidence. There are dozens of other apparently simple tasks that so many of us no doubt find challenging, but are afraid to confess to. If you just can’t figure how to use cling film, or always say “thrash” when you mean “trash”, you’ve stumbled upon the right column.