At the first conference Fiona Bruce treated me with respect, and even gave the impression that she would like to be my friend. That said, she still managed to convey a sense of superiority over the academic delegates. It did not go unnoticed that while the rest of us travelled in economy to Australia, she and a giggling friend enjoyed the comfort of first class.

My relationship with Fiona soured when I withdrew as keynote speaker from the second conference. She was unwilling to accept that I felt burnt out. She was also furious that I had only given her a week to fill the speaking slot, even though I explained that all my slides were written and that someone else might be willing to deliver the presentation. The whole situation was made even worse when I insisted on staying on at the conference as a non-speaking delegate.

Amidst all this bad feeling TPR discovered a new batch of long lost relations at the conference. He was completely distracted by this opportunity to fill in gaps on numerous branches of his family tree.