My office was the size of a bus shelter. It contained a desk, shower cubicle, and a toilet – plus two other workers. It really was too small for three, and was quite unpleasant whenever any of us used the facilities. There was a also a large shared kitchen across the corridor, but nobody ever took responsibility for keeping it clean and tidy. If you needed a dinner plate, there were plenty available – so long as you were prepared to do the washing up.

I escaped for an hour or so in a borrowed Smart car. My driving was even worse than ever. I nearly rammed into the back of a small truck at a busy road junction, took a wrong turn on to the walkway that ran along Mason Hall (on the University of Birmingham Vale campus), and almost knocked over two students as I bounced to a halt.

Life would be so much easier if I could just continue to work from home.