We had great success growing strawberries under our flourishing redcurrant bush. Our only mistake was to harvest the early fruit to ripen elsewhere while making room for the next crop. KT told us that doing so would ruin the soil, then wandered off to consume vast amounts of our cheese.

I ignored her, turning my attention to the distressed school teacher sitting with her head between her knees on the staircase, wailing that she couldn’t go on. I agreed that her job sounded hideous, but it looked like it hadn’t done her any harm. Nobody would believe that this youthful-looking woman was 70 years old.

I also wanted to quit my job due to external political pressures. My ambition was to become a shoe designer.