The cost of signing up for the departmental Christmas party was so great that only twelve people turned up for the celebration. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the company of JB, BD and FR at my table – even though BD made a mistake with the bill, ignoring my earlier estimate of £42 per head.

Afterwards I checked into a hotel in St Andrews on my own. It took me so long to drive home from there the next day in my red Peugeot 205 (as an infrequent and inexperienced driver) that I missed my regular Friday morning meeting with colleagues.

However, I did enjoy a visit to the town of Dream (4 miles from Haddington) to see the amazingly steep road up the hill just off the high street.