TPR took down all the pictures in the hall and replaced them with a single massive canvas. It was so big that it covered both the wall and the floor. Friends, art lovers, and the general public from all around came to view the work, taking up nearly all the space in our otherwise tidy house.

Before long we were in chaos. First my shoes, keys and laptop went missing. Then TPR and I started to lose track of time. Two Saturdays in a row we set off to the airport too late to catch flights to celebrate the 30th wedding anniversary of L and T in (a) Bristol and (b) Middlesbrough. On the first occasion we didn’t even bother to ring to apologise.