It being a new year, I have resolved to bare my soul to my readers.  Within reason anyway.  When I’m at home and alone, and if it’s not too cold, I do without clothes. This sometimes leads to mild embarrassment, as when I went out to the clothes line and met my neighbour walking near the invisible boundary between our properties.  We smiled in silent greeting.  I had never seen her before and I never saw her again.

On another occasion I was baking an apple crumble (my favourite food) and I heard a bell ring.  I quickly pulled on shorts and a tee-shirt and opened the door.  No-one there.  As you’ve probably guessed, it was the oven timer.

“Hold on,” I hear you say, “This is not the kind of serious stuff we expect from StroppyGit!”  You’re right.  It is just a clumsy introduction to commenting on a nuance in the English language.  Is there any difference between ‘naked’ and ‘nude’?  Almost all European languages make no distinction, but I think English does.  ‘Naked’ implies vulnerability, shame, helplessness.  ‘Nude’ is proud, self-confident, empowered.

Or am I talking bunkum?  How do you use the words?