KA abandoned her own family and moved in with mine. She took the rooms above the annex that we rented out to a potter and other craftspeople. I was worried when I heard that my mother did all the cleaning. I couldn’t work out how she managed to climb the spiral staircase up to KA’s quarters, especially since it comprised only the banister and no steps.

One day I called over to see how KA was getting on in her new home. The whole ground floor was flooded and I had to swim my way in through water clouded with clay deposits. It was too late when I realised that in doing so I had exposed my iPhone to a soaking, and that it would never work again.