It started as a bit of an irritation, a small annoyance, an ‘erp-herm’ which wasn’t even voiced. In fact I’m not sure when the erp-herms started, they were so insignificant. The previous night I had been wide awake from the moment my head touched the pillows – which was fine while I was reading the latest book club volume. This book should have been enough to send anyone to sleep, and I will exceptionally name it as one of the most dull books I’ve ever read. So often I give up on book club books which is naughty really since one of my book club chums will have recommended it, and also I so often don’t enjoy the choices. I promised myself I would read this all the way through, I owe it to my chums. This immensely dull book is ‘French Braid’ by Anne Tyler. I finished today and am looking forward to hearing my friends opinions, as I doubt they are the same as mine.
Back to the previous night where I’d been unable to nod off, despite the book club book, and despite the excellent new book by the extremely talented writer, Chris Speck. I did everything I could to fall asleep once the light was off, tried to think of boring things, tried to tell myself stories, tried to think of nothing – but apart from a few minutes adrift, I was awake until just before the alarm clock brought me the ‘Today’ programme with Mishal Hussein and Justin Webb. Last night, having been very tired during the day, I settled down to sleep, reading only a short while, and then giving myself up to slumber. Unfortunately an irritating cough had a different idea.
This cough kept me awake just about all night, from annoying erp-herms, to hacking and lung-wrenching barks. I got up, I had a drink, I sucked a cough sweet… I was so tired, but every time I drifted sleepwards, bark-bark-bark! I felt almost ill with tiredness and kept thinking of others who had far worse problems than I did, and not to feel agitated or annoyed, but I was so tired! Morning came, greeted by Justin and Mishal again. I’m sure it wasn’t them, or the awful news they brought, but I suddenly lapsed into sleep, still broken from time to time by painful wracketing hacks, but at least I caught up with some zeds. I eventually woke and rose early afternoon.
Coughing, what an annoying and painful thing it is! Etymonline says:
“a violent, noisy effort to expel air from the lungs,” early 14c., coughen, probably in Old English but not recorded, from Proto-Germanic *kokh-(source also of Middle Dutch kochen, Middle High German kuchen), with the rough “kh” of German or of Scottish loch”
https://www.etymonline.com/word/cough#etymonline_v_19147
That doesn’t help me, but at least now I know!
Lois Elsden 