It was festival time in Edinburgh and celebrities were everywhere. When we passed a BBC van my niece BMcC recognised a famous drama director and Oxford academic. As B was a keen actress herself, and planning to take up a place at Oxford in the new academic year, she felt compelled to introduce herself.

“Hello, I’m B”, she said. “I’m a huge fan of yours, and will also be joining you in Oxford in October.”

The drama director smiled kindly and answered “Ah, to teach?” mistaking B for someone much older.

This reply was clearly far too confusing for a teenage brain to process, so B simply replied “Yes”.