Science has cut to the heart of a matter very dear to my heart...but even dearer to my brain:

University of Bristol researchers say the caffeine eases withdrawal symptoms which build up overnight, but does not make people more alert than normal. The work, presented to the British Nutrition Foundation conference only people who have avoided coffee for a while will get a buzz from caffeine.

But the British Coffee Association said regular drinkers did feel more alert. Those who swear by their morning caffeine fix say it wakes them up, and if they missed out they would feel sluggish and unable to get on with their day.

First, how does one get a job with the British Coffee Association? One imagines the mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks are quite fabulous. It must smell good there, too. Second, as breakfast is the only time I regularly have coffee I have a hard time with the suggestion that I am not gaining alertness. You've seen me spell without a coffee. You've seen some of the observations I have made. You would think the least the British Coffee Association could do is make me a paid witness or even an informant in this matter.

But even if it is not true. Even if all I need is a big gulp of heated, bitter, malty fluid to get me going in the morning - what the heck is wrong with that? Who are being these so-called Bristol so-called researchers anyway? I think I prefer to stick with the BCA and am quite excited that they, on their rather natty website are offering selection of downloadable leaflets. I thought the internet had undone the whole leaflet trade so I appreciate the thoughtfulness of the British Coffee Association in supplying the tools I need to harang others in a non-digital way perhaps even in the public space, maybe at your front door. Maybe they are in a synergistic relationship with the British Leaflet and Pamphleteering Association.