I really did not want to go on holiday, so I took a long afternoon nap instead. I woke up and knew I had missed the flight. I was thrilled – all I needed to do now was contact the friend who had organised this ‘fun holiday’ and make up a lie about my absence.

Downstairs, however, something was amiss. My houseguest, believing I was in Spain for a week, had organised a surprise party for me and invited all my work colleagues. Here they were, sitting in my lounge and laughing at my record collection. I was livid – how dare he make friends with my work family? And, if this was ‘my’ surprise party, as he was now claiming, why wasn’t I invited?