Thing To Do Today: natter.

It's only the British, I understand, who make a habit of nattering, but I think the rest of the world would be very happy if it joined us.

To natter is to have a nice long talk. It's different from chatter, which is rather loud and excited. A natter is comfortable and basically friendly.

A quarrel isn't part of a natter, and neither are instructions or speeches. A good natter is utterly absorbing, if without any obvious purpose.

Sometimes a natterer will get carried away by the sound of her own voice, and then people will get fed up with the sound of her nattering on all the time. But mostly a good natter, probably starting with the weather and moving on to the state of the world, football, or fashion, is a source of continual interest and comfort.

Nattering can of course be done by electronic means.

But it's cheaper (and there's much more chance of cake) if it's face to face.

Thing To Do Today: natter. Until the 1800s this word used to be gnatter, but then it meant to grumble which is quite different.