My new routine was to take my weekly bath every Friday in the claw-foot Victorian tub to be found in the main corridor at QMC in Corstorphine. Some people complained that it blocked the way to the library, but anyone with an ounce of agility could easily get past. The more difficult negotiation was with JK, my former Head of School, who was challenging me for my regular bathing spot.

Perhaps I had developed the habit of bathing in public at work because I was angry at TPR’s decision to move house? Our new flat was near Angle Terrace in Edinburgh. I couldn’t help comparing it unfavourably with our last place. For example, instead of looking out on to a well-kept communal garden, all we could see from the window was a piece of inner city scrub. Rather than being welcomed into a big hallway from the porch, behind the front door of our new place were dark, dingy, narrow corridors – or so I thought… Further investigation revealed that we now had 42 bedrooms for friends to stay overnight, and an amazing vast, ornate ballroom for the best parties ever.