Sit down, put your feet up and relax …

Today is National Siesta Awareness Day. My father was well ahead of the times. From as far back as I can remember, he had a habit of retiring from the lunch table to his armchair, closing his eyes and having what he referred to as ‘forty winks’ before walking back into work. I looked up the phrase ‘forty winks’ on Wikipedia and found the article chatty and interesting. Then I googled the phrase ‘put your feet up and relax’. In recent times I have learned* that the optimum position for passing a bowel movement is squatting – that our custom of sitting regally over a porcelain throne is less than ideal. Apparently if you suffer from constipation, sitting on the loo with your feet up on a stool in front of you (so that your knees are higher than your backside) should assist matters. I found myself wondering if that was where the phrase (put your feet up and relax) first came from, and was surprised to find an article with that title discussing the euphemistic use of the word ‘feet’ in the bible. Which if it suggests anything, perhaps suggests I’ve got just a little too much spare time?

*I believe it was courtesy of Gillian McKeith, she of ‘what does your poo say about you’ catchphrase