At a party once, as a child, I was most unimpressed to hear an elderly couple who had just arrived discussing the best way of getting themselves home – before they had even taken off their coats or had a drink. The lady scolded her husband mercilessly because he had not organised a getaway.

“I wish we could be like Marjorie,” the lady said. “She always arrives in a black cab and leaves it waiting outside until she wants to go home. She never gets stranded. It’s so elegant. Why can’t we do that?”