I paid a super-discounted fare to travel from Edinburgh to London by train and back again. The service was so good that I made it in good time for my meeting at 11:00, and by 16:00 I was back in my seat heading north.

The only thing that I didn’t like about travelling on this type of ticket was the requirement at Berwick-upon-Tweed to get off the train and sit in a locker the size of a domestic washing machine with other discount passengers while the carriages were serviced. I tried to get out of this by claiming that I suffered from claustrophobia. My pleas were ignored and I was forced into the locker regardless.

Later I got chatting the blonde woman who ran the discount fare company. When I heard that her entire working week comprised travelling up and down the east coast selling and checking rail tickets I wondered whether this could be the job for me. I love the train! Then I learnt that the salary for the role was just £11,000 and you had to work weekends. Suddenly it was a far less attractive career option.