"I love the 19th-century idea of the flaneur, the poet wandering through the streets." — Tom Hodgkinson

Faffing, of course, does not fit the programme. We are supposed to be busy, productive citizens.

If you can find a way to make a living doing something you enjoy, or a range of things that you enjoy, then it can scarcely be called work.

In this age of getting what you want and getting it now, the simple pleasure of browsing is often forgotten.

Idleness allows you to turn a situation from boredom to pleasure.