Zen and the art of Ironing

I love ironing. If I didn't work in an office, I guess I would hardly do it. So for me, it's one of the big plusses of the whole '9 to 5' thing. Getting paid is quite good, too.

I never understood why some people leave ironing a work shirt until the last minute before leaving the house, getting all rushed and bothered about it. Making an event out a week's ironing it is such good fun and very rewarding - getting that crumpled pile of washing into a beautiful, smooth order.

Ordinarily I would iron in the evening with a glass of wine. But the sun was shining today and I'm not drinking booze this month so I decided to take the ironing into the garden with a mug of tea. Seven shirts done in about 40 minutes. I'm not fast, but I enjoy the journey.

There's a notion of 'extreme ironing' that ironically takes a mundane domestic chore and adds adrenaline by taking it to bizarre situations - ironing while falling out of an aeroplane or ironing 50m under water. But I think they miss the point - it's a gentle, private, meditative job of work. Great with music, too.