If you think I'm one of the people who try to be funny at breakfast you're wrong.

Mornings require silence, not charm

There's something refreshingly honest about admitting you're not a morning person—especially someone admitting it directly, without apology. Du Maurier is drawing a line: she needs silence and coffee before her brain functions as a social being. It's not about being unfriendly; it's about respecting the actual rhythms of how humans work.

Most of us recognize this tension. We live in a culture that rewards early cheerfulness—the colleague who bounces into meetings grinning, the parent who's somehow ready to engage meaningfully at 6 AM. But the truth is that different people genuinely operate on different timelines. Some brains need runway. Some of us are genuinely unreachable for the first hour, and forcing ourselves to perform enthusiasm is exhausting rather than connecting.

What's interesting is how much we hide this. We show up and try anyway, pushing ourselves to be "on," which often makes us resentful or grumpy anyway—just while pretending we're not. Du Maurier's stance sidesteps all that. She's saying: respect what's real about how I function, and you'll actually get better results than if I force a cheerful performance I don't feel. Sometimes honesty is friendlier than charm.