This book is dedicated for the "old fella" forever on a hill. Running in the rain may not be the most pleasant activity to start your day, but if you want a distraction from the soaking wet feet, clingy clothes and soggy hat on your head, then plan a route that means you have to run up a hill. Because if it is steep enough, then being wet will pale into insignificance, and the rain will be the least of your worries.

As with running in the rain, if you do run up a few hills, the feeling of accomplishment will make you feel a lot better about life than just jogging along a flat road in the dry.

We're going to explore some of the areas that, during my life, have annoyed me. Irritated me. Raised my blood pressure. And almost made me stop doing stuff I wanted to do. But I also think you will share my feelings. You may well nod your head and think "yep, I know where he's coming from."

So, what hills are we up against?

Well, I'll start by introducing you to the concept of faffing. We'll look at the agony of an airline losing your bag. We'll discuss the frustration of packaging and how it once nearly got me arrested. We'll open the topic of jobsworths and how they impact our lives. We'll consider the pain that comes with being passionate about sport. We'll dig into the sad world of the sporting cheat. And we'll tackle two of the most challenging hills I have come across in my life: my mother's fight with Alzheimer's disease and my own journey of living with Tourette Syndrome.

I hope this all offers you a chance to consider the hills in your life. I hope what I will share will offer you an opportunity for personal reflection. And I hope you find the upward journey on which we are about to embark to be relevant, enlightening... and just maybe a bit of fun.