Ranting and not ranting

Good morning. That is, I hope that you are having a good morning.

An email from Susan at Green Chair Press was awaiting me first thing today, which said, inter alia, 'Please post your typographic rant soon. Reading a good rant is a good way to start the day!'


Well, that may be true, I suppose, but having a rant certainly isn't an ideal way to start the day, as I have just proved and had I one of those blood-pressure-reading machines I have little doubt that it would be flashing warning messages at me. It is the first day of term for the three small Doyles (three different schools, first day at new one for youngest), and what with that, and work issues, and Wedding-related issues, I woke about 27 times in the night, worrying about one thing or another and have calculated total hours' sleep to have been in the region of two and a half. Possibly less. So my every utterance thus far has been a rant. For example, on SD No 1 (who is actually not very small at all and certainly taller than me) announcing this morning that she needed to be in school half an hour earlier than usual. She has had seven weeks in which to mention this, but chose to do so this morning. And, for another example, on finding that SD No 2 had helpfully left school trainers in garden overnight to 'dry out' and 'de-smell', forgetting that night-time in September brings heavy dew and hence trainers far wetter (though marginally less stinky) than previously - and the whole discovery only came to light after he suddenly 'realised' that he might need them today after all, which prompted a huge flurry of outgoing texts to other parents asking ' is it PE today?', to which the majority of replies were 'don't know, assume not', so trainers retrieved from car at last minute - much to relief of other occupants - and now dangle from washing line in emerging sunshine to dry out properly.

I fear, therefore that, in my current condition, a genuine full-blown Rant, on a topic of such major importance as typography, would today go right off the scale and probably destroy half the internet.

I will be back when I'm feeling calmer. I think I shall play some Lute Sonatas by Silvius Leopold Weiss, and that might do the trick. It usually does. My eternal gratitude, etc, to the one who introduced me to the music of this under-rated chum of J S B.