While TNX played Lord of the Manor, watching all the comings and goings on his ‘estate’, his wife QNX seemed a little subdued. At first I thought this might be because we guests had over-stayed our welcome (and that I really could have polished my shoes elsewhere).

However, she eventually confessed that she wasn’t really in the mood to host visitors, especially not since the diagnosis that she had kept secret from us up to that point.

‘Oh no, not another one’ I muttered under my breath.