Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Courtney Cox, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow were all instantly recognisable. I had accidentally stumbled across the unknown Friends movie on an obscure hotel TV channel. A few years on, the scenes portrayed Rachel Green as a high school teacher, a long-haired Joey Tribbiani up to his usual womanising tricks, and a rather overweight Chandler Bing. I was disappointed not to be able to see the whole film and discover what became of all the characters in the end, but it felt rude to watch television when other hotel residents joined me in the sitting room.

=======

The brown bullock attacked as I was trying to wheel the tandem through a gate. Thank goodness my father was there with all his equipment. He lassoed the beast around the neck and fought it to the ground. Such were his veterinary powers that the bullock rapidly shrank in size before our very eyes, and within minutes my father was cradling a tiny, helpless, creature in the palm of his hand.