I must have broken several international laws on board the flight from Thailand back to the UK:

• I carried a sharp three inch needle in my hand luggage
• I looped the yarn from my ball of blue wool to the tail of the plane to make it easier for me to continue knitting during the journey
• I sat outside the exit door in mid-air for a large part of the journey

As we came into land I struck up a conversation with an elderly couple and a young boy, who I took to be their grandson. They were on their way to Borth in Wales. I mentioned my friends H and R, who have a house there. The couple claimed that they knew H’s father and that he was coming to their house later that same week for lunch and a round of golf. I knew that they were lying when they named this man Charles (and also because H’s father had been dead for years). When they started talking about some other friends called H and T I started to worry about my safety. Had they been stalking me?

My anxiety increased when I could not reach TPR by phone from arrivals – and then ST turned up in his place.