I was shocked when I learnt that JC had moved back in with her parents after her marriage to GC came to a sudden end. This was nothing, however, to my dismay and desperation when TPR calmly announced that his move south ‘for work’ was not temporary, and that he wanted a divorce.

While I had been looking forward to a long and happy retirement with the love of my life, TPR had been reading a (supposedly) scientific text book about women and marriage. From this he had come to the conclusion he’d been ‘sold a dud’. He wanted to free himself of me to enjoy everything that had been missing from his life over the past four decades.

I took refuge in an academic library that was offering shelter to students during the coronavirus crisis. I found a free desk in a far corner of the reading room, hoping for some peace and quiet. Instead I found – under a bed sheet – two very young presenters of the Today programme giving a demonstration of an outside broadcast to students on campus. I caused a minor disruption when I tipped a carton of goat’s milk all over the floor next to the recording equipment.