Thing To Do Today: shuffle.

Some of us may leap out of our beds with a song in our heart and a spring in our steps, but, let's face it, most of us start the day shuffling.

It's a lovely word - the sound of soft shoes sliding across carpet.

And talking of soft shoes:

And, gosh, if Oliver Hardy can do it at his age, and with his girth, then I'm sure the rest of us can.

You can also shuffle cards, of course, or play shuffleboard, which is pretty much a huge floor version of shove ha-penny.

If you have an MP3 player, or a newer CD machine than I have, then it can probably shuffle your tracks for you.

Just don't do a Shakespearian shuffle, all right? Because that'll be the last thing you ever do.

Keep a very tight hold on your mortal coil.

Thing To Do Today: shuffle. This word arrived in the 1500s, probably from Holland, where they had a similar word, shüffeln.