A few of my least favourite things

I always read top ten lists of "Things That Make Me Happy" or "Little things that made my day" with a heavy dose of cynicism and British sarcasm. I am ashamed to say if I ever begin making a list in my mind it all too often contains the things that irritate the hell out of me, rather than life's simple pleasures.

So as it is Friday, and I have now spent over 4 hours making playlists on Spotify, I am going to turn my attention to the things that make me happiest. However if I am to do that, I will also enjoy the great indulgence of listing the things that wind me up most.

Without further ado, and we shall start with the goodies:

Simple Pleasures
Fresh Coffee.
Friends who make me laugh and strangers who are kind.
Sitting right by the fire in my parents house with a glass of champagne in one hand and my dog Danny in the other. Throw in Britain's Got Talent/an old Poirot, and the company of the parents and you've got my perfect evening.
Leaving work early and meeting friends in town to mooch around Topshop, Urban Outfitters and Muji before heading into Soho for dinner.
Somebody else doing the dishes.
An impromptu dinner out.
Freshly washed and ironed sheets and duvet covers.
A sunny weekend.
Getting posters and art work framed.
Planning my outfits in preparation for the next day.
Going to bed at 10 with a good book and turning my phone off.
A long run around the park with a good soundtrack and no-one else around.

Misery Makers
Cleaning out the coffee granules from my cafetiere
Waiting anything over 5 minutes for my bus/tube (this is shameful impatience, but it is also shameful that I pay £25 a week for a travelcard so I feel justified in this grievance)
Eating too much rubbish, which always seems a great idea beforehand but not so much afterwards.
People who walk slowly up steps when they know someone is behind them (this is especially annoying when they are walking to a train platform with a train about to pull away, and it happens far more than you'd hope!)
Dishes left until the next morning.
Rainy weekends and grey days.
Having to pander to the requests and boundaries of people without imagination or who do things because they've always been done thus.