A few things that annoy me

This could really be a much longer list but six is a good round number. Some people might even read the whole article...

Dodgy Road Signs: it doesn’t take much to get the text right on road signs - they’re not exactly verbose - but when they say things like “Use Both Lanes” rather than the somewhat more accurate “Use Either Lane” I feel a terrible urge to obey; imagine the fuss if you actually did exactly what the sign instructed you to do.

Badly Designed Websites: unlike road signs, designing an good website is not easy to do. That’s not an excuse for doing it badly, though, which is the option taken by too many companies. Rather than release a half-finished, untested mess of poorly thought out user interactions, give your website the treatment it deserves; either finish it properly or execute it humanely and spare us all the pain of having to use it.

Real-life Television: I’m looking at you, Airline, with your scenes of people missing flights because of drunkeness, heavy traffic, poor process design or bad temper. Yes, occasionally, some people do make it through the airport to their destination, but programmes that concentrate so heavily on pain and anguish really ought to come with a health warning: “Beware - may seriously damage your sense of humour”.

And while we’re on the subject of television, let’s spare a moment to consider Strictly Come Prancing. Sorry, Dancing, which my wife insists on watching (sometimes twice a week if she feels the need to catch up on the results). It’s not that I particularly object to these shows (although I think it’s time to put Bruce Forsyth back in his coffin) but there should be limits - no more than an hour a week and no more than 12 weeks a year. Seems only fair.

Hotel Rooms from the 19th Century: if you regularly spend time in hotels you may notice that many suffer from a flaw, namely a shortage of readily accessible power points by which electrical devices (phones, tablets, laptops etc.) can be charged. Typically, power outlets are hidden under beds or behind cabinets where they are out of sight, presumably for aesthetic reasons, making it difficult or inconvenient to gain access. In 21st century hotels, available (i.e. unused) power sockets should be located beside the bed (both sides) and the desk.

Sunday Trading Laws: in the UK we are blessed with a collection of antiquated traditions based on a largely abandoned Middle Eastern religion. These traditions, codified as the restrictive ""insert name of Act here"", are used to justify an artificial shortening of trading hours on an arbitrarily chosen day of the week to placate the sensibilities of a non-existent supernatural being. Madness, and enormously annoying to anyone who has limited free time and who might like to shop on a Sunday, i.e. pretty much all of us.

It turns out there are a lot of things that annoy me. This may become a regular series.