Three weeks earlier in the first week of term I stuffed some bits and pieces – including a few loose eggs – into a carrier bag and left it in the car on the floor behind the driver’s seat. I only remembered this when the posh man on the golf course showed me his own collection of out of date eggs. His were strewn across the fairway, each one covered in small bumps. I commented that I thought the rotten contents would have exploded by now. My companion explained that they would last forever in this state. It was a relief to know that it would still be safe to fetch the forgotten cargo from my car.