I should have followed my instincts and refused to allow my colleague to bring his puppy to our meeting, but I didn’t. So now everyone – myself included – was focused on the cute little dog instead of our business.

It was just my luck that when it was my turn to pet her, the puppy chose this moment to demonstrate that she was not yet toilet trained.

Thankfully Catherine, Princess of Wales was seated just far enough away to avoid a soaking.