The bad news at work was that I couldn’t shake off the ranting member of library staff from the University of Birmingham. It was unclear why she felt that she had to tail me all day, but I wished that she would just go away. Her shouting was extremely tiresome.

The good news, however, was that I’d won a £25 million research grant. I’d never seen my boss so happy.

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I joined the huge queue at the veterinary surgery and waited my turn. Eventually it came and I followed the nurse into the optical workshop. There she taught me how to insert the rice grain-sized pieces of rubber into the slots of spectacle arms, and I soon mended my glasses.