Rolling in the deep

As the Duke of Wellington once said, "Top o the mornin' to ya!"1 Shortly after that he said "When a man turns over he should turn out." I have adapted this phrase for the modern ear to "Roll over, roll out"2 . What does all this actually mean? Well if I can be so bold as to attempt to translate the words of the Iron Duke 3, I think what he was trying to say was that when you wake up for the first time and turn over in bed, that is the time you should get up out of bed.
This is a phrase which has followed me around since I first read it, haunting me like the ghost of procrastination. It has been knocking around my head a great deal in the past few weeks since my sleeping patterns have been knocked off kilter by a combination of depression and medication. I have been finding myself waking a lot through the night then 'properly' rousing at around 0530HRS 4. Now I do not think the Duke was meaning that if you get up for a pee at 0235HRS then you should get dressed and start making tea n toast! But what about the half past five awakening? Too early?
In my dreams I rise effortlessly from my white cotton sheets, slip downstairs and put on the coffee. With the rich aroma stimulating my clean, hairless nostrils I pop the pain aux chocolate into the oven and sit back with the latest edition of Military Matters, noting with excitement the cover teaser about an article on page 17 about the Duke of Wellington's daily routine, Six steps to a healthier, more energized life. A day with the iron duke. Next week bowel health the Bonaparte way! Reality bites and I turn over, not out.

1 Seems he was as Irish as Brad Pitt in Blown Away.
2 Any publishers reading this I've got a great idea for a self help book based on the routines and disciplines of great generals through history.
3 Only a few men were ever great enough to carry the name 'The Duke'. Wellington, although he needed the prefix of 'Iron' to let you know he was hard.      Overcompensating I think. The other men worthy of the handle are John 'the duke' Wayne and my personal favourite David 'the duke' Dickinson. Cheap as chips!
4 Since I am talking about a military man I felt the armed forces style time thing was a nice touch. It's what the Duke would have expected. Mind you though, whe what the 24 hour notation invented?