JW led me up the secret spiral staircase to the famous hilltop where all the great and good were gathered. I’d known of the existence of this exclusive sunbathing spot for some time, but because I had never been invited there before, I had never been able to find it by myself.

For a venue labelled “exclusive” it was somewhat crowded, and I wondered how my school friend AH had wangled her way into the party.

Of course it was no surprise that NP was there! She was busy negotiating a place on a mountaineering trip with a beautiful dark-haired man in his mid-twenties. She generously suggested that I might like to join the expedition too. In response the young man looked me up and down and announced that the trip would be too strenuous for the likes of me.

He was right. Even now I was wondering just how I was going to pick a way back down the steep hill after the party.