On a rare visit to Birmingham, TPR and I checked up on our little house in Northfield. It had been empty for years, but we didn’t have the heart to sell it. I wandered around the lovely garden, surprised to find that there was still snow on the ground, then popped indoors to find TPR pondering whether or not it had been a good idea to take the wall down between the kitchen and the sitting room.

“Perhaps we should rent it out?” I suggested. “I know someone who would enjoy living here and look after the house well: my online friend Y”.