Now that I’ve learned what quiddling means, I can in all modesty reveal that it’s one of my special skills. I have spent years honing the art and I am, I think, justifiably proud of the result. I have the wonderful etymologist Susie Dent to thank for this insight. According to her, quiddling means frittering away your time on trivial tasks as a means of avoiding the important ones that really should be done. I can remember a lot of “wadging” from my university days, which was an acronym for “work-avoidance discussion groups” and was essentially chatting in order to avoid studying of any sort. But quiddling takes this to a new level because you can convince yourself that you’re doing something useful while avoiding the things that really need to be done. Like reorganising the spice shelf when what I really need to do is phone the water company, where I’ll be placed on hold for 40 minutes, listening to tinny non-music, interrupted occasionally by a recording saying that my call is important to them and then, if I’m lucky, get through to a mechanical voice that asks how they can help me today and then cuts me off.
My new favourite podcast is perfect quiddling material. It’s called Twice Upon a Time and is hosted by Janet Ellis, the former Blue Peter presenter and mother of the singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Every week a guest is invited to talk about their favourite book from childhood and why it means so much to them. Janet Ellis is a charming, funny and insightful host, with a wonderfully comforting voice and just listening to the podcast is the perfect diversion from doing anything useful at all. As a champion quiddler, however, I knew it had the potential for more.
I read an awful lot of books as a child and wondered how I could choose just one. I know it’s unfashionable, but I loved Enid Blyton’s Famous Five stories. I was also a big fan of Alison Uttley’s beautifully illustrated books, particularly the ones about Sam Pig. Orlando the Marmalade Cat was also a great favourite and it has only just struck me that we have a resident marmalade cat of our own and that may be the reason why. Of course, my whole family loved Paddington Bear. However, there was only one clear winner and it was Mary Poppins. I was obsessed with the world that P.L. Travers conjured up and I almost felt like I lived in 17 Cherry Tree Lane along with Jane, Michael and the baby twins. I naturally went on to adore Julie Andrews once I’d seen the film, although she was a lot sweeter and smilier than her fictional counterpart, who was prickly (figuratively, not literally), sharp-tongued and very vain, constantly admiring herself in shop windows. Disney obviously got his own way on that one.
Naturally all this nostalgia meant I was forced to go out and buy a beautiful hardback copy of the first Mary Poppins book (there are eight in total). If anyone asks me what I’m reading I say The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy, which is technically true, but for every 10 pages I read of that I devour a chapter of Mary Poppins. At this rate, by the time I’ve finished my proper serious book, I will also have read the entire set of Mary Poppins. But is this true quiddling? Is Mary Poppins trivial and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness vitally important? Mary Poppins was written in 1934 and it does make me wonder which will still be read in 90 years’ time.
Where does moving house fit on the scale of quiddling? Surely that was quite a big thing,
Or playing a round of golf? Mind you there’s one rule when it comes to quiddling. You should never talk about other people’s quiddling.
(My computer’s spell checker doesn’t seem to recognise the word quiddling).
Moving house is definitely not quiddling. Leafing through the books you’re supposed to be packing into boxes is. Playing a round of golf seems purposeful enough, but I had no idea there were any rules to quiddling at all.
I still have my Mary Poppins hardbacks from childhood, though I think I have only 4, never knew there were 8!!
You are so lucky – my new copy only has illustrations above the chapter headings. All the lovely drawings I remember within the chapters have been removed.
Oh no, now I know what I do all the time and you have given Robert a name for it when I complain I never seem to get anything (important?) done. I think we have turned quiddling into an art and need to give it the street cred it deserves.
I’m quite proud to be a quiddler and I think you should be too.
For several years now, I have played a word card game, with three friends, called Quiddler. During the pandemic, we played it on Zoom, each having our own pack of cards! We continue to ‘Quiddle’ on Zoom every week! We are all avid ‘wordsmiths,’ so we’re not competitive about winning; it’s just the joy of making words! When away in our motorhome, John & I play a couple of games each evening, sometimes, even, we squeeze a quick game when we stop for a tea or coffee break! It’s very addictive!
Do Google it! It’s a much shorter &, in a sense, easier game than Scrabble. I think you’d love it.
I’ve had a look online and it does look like fun and especially good for travelling. A lot of people also rave about Bananagrams, another word game that’s easy to take when you travel.