The lights on the Spider-Man pinball machine blinked “relax, mate” in Morse code. Bob’s fist decided to order a packet of salted peanuts and not smash through the game’s glass cover. Bob took a look in the pub’s beer fridge and couldn’t chuckle at the gamification employed by breweries naming their beers “The Wizard’s Quiff” and “Peter’s Parker Jacket”. His calves felt tight from the morning’s 4.5km run and his back throbbed like a mid-work migraine from an afternoon yoga session – his latest attempt at lunchtime mindfulness. Bob ate a salted peanut from his now open packet and sighed at its dry roasted flavour.

Carl Burkitt 2024