Last Wednesday, I had lunch with a colleague at a sandwich bar across the road from the office. We sat facing each other over a little table and ate soup from limp cardboard cups. I had slung my handbag across the back of my chair and, when we stood up to leave, I found that the bag had left before me. I’d been so consumed by office gossip that I hadn’t noticed someone had quietly helped themselves to my beautiful, supple brown leather bag – and to my entire working life that was inside it.

Bother, bollocks, bugger, blast, I thought.