Emerging from my slumbers to a soundtrack of the Radio 4 Today programme I was very surprised to hear mention of an external colleague’s name. The big news was that DW had been appointed vice chancellor of one of the London universities! In my opinion this was appointment entirely well-deserved, so it was very disappointing that this news was presented as controversial. I screamed at the interviewee who ranted that the job should have gone to someone with qualifications in a “proper” subject.

Later I attended the opening of a massive conference in London. It was lovely to see other external work colleagues there, including SG with whom I conducted a little dance across the stage before the first session opened. The place was packed and I left it too late to watch the opening act in the auditorium. Instead I took a place next to my school friend HP (now HH) to follow proceedings on a big screen behind the stage. When the opening keynote turned out to be a troupe of acrobats I was extremely grateful not to be in the main hall. Some naked, the performers strapped themselves into harnesses, flew across the auditorium, then plucked bewildered conference delegates from their seats to join the mid-air spectacle.

When I got home again I found TPR sulking because I had not watched the acrobats with him. I followed him into the bathroom to apologise. There we hit a huge wall of water: someone had forgotten that he had left the bath running…