We ejected the two students from the table and got down to business.

Our newly-appointed bearded colleague contributed much to the discussion. This was just what we hoped for when we took the decision to recruit external experienced staff on open contracts. His infectious enthusiasm prompted me to check when the next student-staff liaison committee meeting was due to take place: I genuinely wanted to participate.

Then the conversation turned to professorial appointments. “Good grief, who else?” I thought to myself, as both the new colleague and X rated their chances of promotion. It seemed to me that entire staff of the university had put in applications for the last round, regardless as whether or not they had any real hope of convincing the panel of their suitability.

Then X spotted the foil-wrapped 12 inch tall chocolate Easter bunnies on the table behind us. All talk of professorships turned to how we could sneak these out of the cafeteria without being noticed. A couple of bunnnies in gold foil would make excellent birthday presents for my parents.