I ran past the Scottish Parliament with old-timers EJ and LG even though neither was a current member of the running club. One no longer lived in Edinburgh and the other was heavily pregnant. ‘Why are you here?” I asked. Neither could answer my question.

Meanwhile another Edinburgh friend SJ talked of her career ambitions. As she led me down the huge secret staircase from her flat to the ground floor she described the fantastic opportunity about to open at the BBC. All that lay between SJ and the job was the nepotism endemic across the corporation. SJ would be in competition with the current incumbent’s sister. Together we came up with a plan whereby SJ would certainly win the position. Every morning SJ would corner the current post-holder and force-feed her coffee until she handed over the job.