We spotted the Bs when we were out running on Portobello promenade. My former colleague had grown his hair so long that it rivalled that of his wife for length. One of their two sons was with them. Like us, they were eating chips out of polystyrene tubs.

EB’s first words to us were ‘Give me a hug!’ I stepped away in alarm. Had she no idea that we were living in pandemic times? When I mentioned this, she brushed aside my concerns. To her, the whole coronavirus ‘story’ was just that: a tall tale made up to alarm us all.

We left the COVID deniers, then stepped on to the beach to look at some rather elaborate sandcastles.