I envied my friend J’s new life on the Isle of Lewis. She set herself up in a small bedsit where she worked as a translator. She offered several languages, including Gaelic.

However, although I hankered after J’s new Hebridean lifestyle, I knew that I could not tolerate the lawlessness of Stornoway. It was becoming common knowledge that the pubs stayed open on Sundays, and landlords turned a blind eye to smoking in the town’s bars.