When I returned to work after a bout of illness I discovered two things. First, builders had demolished all the women’s toilets in my wing. Second, when it was announced that I was off sick, colleagues had queued at KC’s door to ask after my health. This was not because they were concerned for my well-being. Rather they were engaged in a gossip competition and racing to see who would find out first the name of any deadly disease that I might have contracted.

Of course, on this occasion I was only suffering from a prolonged throat infection. However, as far as my mind was concerned, I was definitely losing it. On a recent holiday I could remember hiring the kayaks and paddles, and going back to the car to find my sunglasses before we set off. Equally I recalled returning to the car park afterwards. However, I had no memory whatsoever of being on the water. SY, in a boat with her husband N, suffered the same affliction. When VE told me that she and CM had moved house to the coast of Denmark so that they could have easy access to the water every day I concluded that this would not work for us: I’d lose half my life through lack of recall.