I took advantage of the stately home’s in-house sewing team and handed over my enormous scarf with the request that it be cut down to a manageable size.

When I came to the end of the self-guided tour of the house, I realised that I had handed over not my red white and blue Union flag scarf as intended, but the red and yellow royal banner of the royal arms of Scotland. I needed to retrace my steps and fix my mistake.

I turned to the very beautiful, tall Chinese young man next to me with whom I had shared a few words earlier and asked if he would like to accompany me to the alterations department. He hesitated as if he wanted to say yes, but ultimately turned down the invitation because his helicopter was waiting on the lawn to take him home.