‘I’m looking forward to your paper in Newcastle on Saturday’ said my colleague from Engineering.

‘I don’t think so’ I replied. ‘I’m off to Loughborough this weekend’.

Then I checked my diary. I had double-booked myself and now had just two days to write my presentation for Newcastle. (I wouldn’t be going to Loughborough after all.)

My next problem was to work out how to retrieve my stolen laptop and all the notes that I now needed to put my presentation slides together.