EH and I plus a couple of others joined the queue at the canteen. My choice of dinner plate was obvious: not the plain white china, nor the bright orange-glazed rough pottery, but the Highland Stoneware Celadon rock pool dish. I filled it with smoked meats. The venison looked especially appetising.

At the table I discussed Throwing sheep in the boardroom with a Danish colleague. I had forgotten that I had lent it to her and couldn’t even remember whether I had read it myself.

Then I fancied a drink. I walked over to the canteen fridges to see what was on offer. Diet Coke was my preferred option, but all I could see was a row of Coke “mix” cans: Coke with beer, Coke with spirits. “That’s interesting,” I thought. “They haven’t marketed these products in the UK – yet.”

A member of staff approached me and I asked whether there was any plain old Diet Coke. “We’ll have some next week”, he replied. This was too late for me because I was due to catch a flight from Denmark to Finland in the next couple of hours. I picked up a bottle of Apfelsaft instead and returned to my table.

All my friends had left without saying goodbye to me! “How rude”, I thought, then checked my watch and realised why they had disappeared. I was running very, very late.

As I ran to the canteen exit I bumped into JH. His plea to me to eat with him was hopeless. If I didn’t leave that very minute, I would surely miss my plane.