Straight-jacketted by bed-linen,
I refuse to panic or submit,
seeking to fight the sheets into
submission. Grappling with corners,
I twist and thrash and try to solve
this case of cotton origami.
At first it all seems bleak, the bedding
begins to win but just as all
looks lost ‘That’s Life’ emerges from
the folds of distant memory.
Shaking out the cobwebs, one flick
is all it takes to turn defeat
into a perfectly aligned
duvet – and Rantzen wins again.

Having almost finished decorating the spare room, it was time to put the bedding on again… Decades on, I still remember Esther Rantzen’s advice regarding how to put these new fangled duvet covers on.
(25.09.26)

© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by wd toro 🇲🇨 on Unsplash