The Ladybird Book Of The Sickie

Work is fantastic. It not only helps us to meet new people, expand our horizons and pay all the bills, it gives our life purpose and defines who we are; the only trouble is having to go in five days a week.

Sometimes, for some people, the urge to stay in their pyjamas and watch daytime television is just too strong to ignore. This is when they will pull what is known as a ‘Sickie’.

An example of a Sickie detailed in this handy guidebook goes as follows: “When Jesse gets home from a very big party, he phones his manager and leaves a message. Now he does not have to get up early to call in sick. 'Calling the office at 3.04am is precisely what someone with a real cold would do,’ Jesse thinks to himself as he falls asleep on the stairs with a kebab as a pillow.”

There is an art to the Sickie and with the help of this large-print, illustrated manual you will get to grips with the concept in no time.

"It’s enough to make Peter and Jane choke on their watercress sandwiches." – The Independent

Do you ever find yourself longing for a simpler time? That time before the horrors of speed-bumps, automated supermarket checkouts and infernal switchboard options; the days when telephones had wires and a reassuring rotating dial, a tweet meant birdsong and Brexit might possibly have meant a new kind of breakfast cereal?

Fear not, for you are not alone. What you need are the new manuals for our times, simple primers for the everyday predicaments we find ourselves in.

Dear friend, what you need is a Ladybird.

Part of the Ladybird Books for Grown Ups series.