It was the end of the final season for my favourite guest house on the Isle of Lewis. As a favour to innkeeper RG, I helped him with the catering in his attempt to use up all the food that remained in the house.

For lunch we made a small tray of meatballs. I feared that these would not stretch to feed the twenty guests seated across three tables. I offered to make smoked salmon salad cocktails for dinner, provided that there were avocados for sale in the village shop.

I couldn’t quite understand why my university friend QL and my old office mate SM were present. However, even if they had wanted to leave, they could not. All ferries were cancelled due to the storms.