Over the summer I used Branxton as my base, and popped into Berwick High School periodically to use the facilities there for completing my project. The house was still full of interesting artefacts associated with my maternal ancestors, including trophies that marked the astonishing achievements of my grandfather.

F was there too. My cousins had granted her permission to bring her pets to stay so she had her small black terrier cross with her. I petted it for a couple of minutes, then it turned into a long yellow lizard.

BB explained the transformation as a consequence of stepping into a pool of radiation. TPR volunteered to take a quick trip back in time to see when the dog had suffered such exposure (even though F insisted that she didn’t mind that she was now the owner of a reptile rather than a pooch).

Afterwards we all took a trip on my cousin’s bus. He drove the number 1 along the west coast of the isles of Lewis and Harris. The local passengers were particularly excited that we ‘strangers’ were using the service.