Alex Cann's weekly column - Thursday 15th May 2025

I’m writing this week’s column in the sunshine at 7pm, which is pretty enjoyable, although there have been more than the usual amount of greenfly in the garden of late. 

I think I read that the weather conditions have been perfect for aphids, and the little blighters have been more ubiquitous than Bradley Walsh on ITV1 lately.

A new study by restaurant chain Tim Hortons UK caught my eye lately, and it focuses on ‘naughty’ habits. I thought we’d take a moment to examine the top six, and see how many you’re guilty of.

Pretending to be on a call just to avoid talking to someone - now, I have to admit I do this on the odd occasion when I’m really not in the mood to fend off chuggers in the street when I’ve merely popped out for a pint of milk. 

Before you write me off as a Scrooge type, I’d like to point out I do give a monthly donation to Cats Protection, but I really resent being buttonholed in the street for my banking details. Therefore, I’ve had a fair few rather convincing (I think) one-sided conversations. 

Things did backfire on one occasion when, rather like the fate that befell Daniel Cleaver in the latest Bridget Jones movie, my “Hello Moto” ringtone went off halfway through an imaginary chat with Mrs Cann about which fruit and veg we needed from the supermarket. The chap I was fastidiously avoiding muttered something distinctly uncharitable about me under his breath, which is fair enough under the circumstances.

Using your work printer for personal stuff - if Emma the boss is reading this, of course I’ve never done this, and find the mere suggestion that I would even contemplate doing it abhorrent. 

I remember whilst I was working at a radio station in York the moment of horror when I realised I’d printed off a load of personal documents, and sent them to the upstairs printer in the sales office...which was locked on a weekend. Oops.

Interrupting people when they are talking - my defence if this ever happens is that I usually sit in a padded room and speak into a sponge microphone, and nobody ever answers back! It’s a strange profession, this radio lark, when you stop and think about it. 

Listening is a real skill, and I think we could all work on being better listeners. Incidentally, I’m now moving inside the house to write the rest of this, as the aphid situation has spiralled out of control.

Not replying to someone’s message and claiming you didn’t see it - the scourge of the double tick means this excuse is rather less convincing than it might be nowadays. It feels at times that we have more and more ways to keep in touch, but in reality, we all lead fairly isolated lives due to spending so much time online.

Making an excuse as to why you can’t go out with a friend so you can stay in - sometimes, the lure of the onesie is just too strong. Going to bed early used to be a punishment when you were a kid, but nowadays, it’s a treat! I don’t like letting people down, but sometimes you can pack your calendar full with too many commitments, and something has to give.

Ordering a takeaway when there’s food in the fridge - this is almost as bad as one of my worst habits, which is cutting my nails just after Mrs C has done the vacuuming. What a catch, eh! 

There’s something illicit in reaching for your smartphone and ordering a stodgy takeaway just after you’ve stuffed your fridge full of food. 

Having said that, we decided to treat ourselves to a cheeky pizza recently, and were shocked by how much prices have risen since we last ordered one. Food prices continue to soar, and recent small drops in inflation mean everything is still going up, albeit a little more slowly. 

On that cheerful note, I’ll confess to once ordering a ‘family size’ pizza whilst at university in Liverpool, and pretending I had friends round to share it. It was all for me.

As for bad habits missed off this survey, surely folk who put their feet on the seats in the cinema merit a mention, along with middle lane drivers and people who listen to their tinny playlists on the train without headphones. 

What are yours to add to the list? E-mail me at alex.cann@notreallyheremedia.com and I promise I’ll send you a nice reply.