The safest place was the basement. Here AC and EF explained why they were in hiding. Then the front doorbell rang. Our hosts hesitated to answer it. What would happen if they did so?

In the end they ignored the caller, and instead AC brought out an old, black plastic, blue-labelled, Vaxitas box. He was keen to reveal the contents, but was inhibited somewhat by my excitement. Never before had I met anyone else beyond my own family who stored their most precious belongings in these 1970s canine distemper vaccine boxes. How extraordinary!

It all made sense when I remembered that AC was a vet’s child too. His collection of Vaxitas boxes probably rivalled my own.