The short cycle ride to Waverley station was torturous. From Broughton Street I was diverted onto a narrow, and almost unnavigable, forest track. I dumped the bike, then continued on foot to the Four Seasons hotel. Here thousands of sci-fi fans were packed into the conference centre.

By this time I was half an hour late to meet by brother-in-law RH. I also began to feel some regret about the bike that I had abandoned. It was not my own, but one of my sister’s most precious possessions.