TPR and I called in for breakfast at my sister S’s hall of residence at Newcastle University. Each morning Barton Hall put out an elaborate spread for its undergraduates and I couldn’t resist returning to the buffet for yet another cereal bar and an extra slice of cream cheese on toast.

When I took my food back to my labelled seat S introduced me to a student tutor who claimed to be teaching in a department that I knew well at Northumbria University. It was a little strange that of all the staff names that I mentioned she only recognised AJP.

Then the bell rang for morning classes. The students organised themselves into several squads of troops as if they were about to go into battle on foot. Meanwhile the walls and doors of the room changed to accommodate each student formation as it marched through the building. It felt like I had been dropped into a scene from movie version of 1984.