I screamed at TPR that it was not our car, but he was so determined to catch the “crooks” that he did not hear me. He leapt on top of the driver at the wheel of the red MGB to prevent it leaving the hotel car park. When he realised that the car was not ours, he was full of shame and struggled to express his apologies for his mistake.

This was his second misdemeanor of the day. Earlier on he had helped himself to some small bottles of milk that he found on a table in the ladies’ lavatories. He thought that these were free samples for guests. They were, in fact, bottles of breast milk expressed by the fierce hotel owner for consumption by her own children.

The incident with the MGB raised the question as to where to find our own car. All the hotel staff were assembled in hotel reception and questioned by the fierce hotel owner. A number were sacked during the interrogation. We eventually discovered that the car was stored in a garage at the back of the hotel. Our tandem was in a basement.

I found XY attempting to take the car out of the garage, which was crammed with other vehicles. He was not giving the job the attention that it required. He pulled the “wrong” lever and it brought another car crashing down on a brand new silver people carrier parked to the left of ours. Its Scandinavian tourist owners were distraught. XY had no idea what to do. I suggested that his insurance policy would perhaps cover the damage. For the time being, however, it was his responsibility to find a means of getting me, and the students that he was meant to be transporting, home.