And so the end of another year approaches in its usual helter-skelter kind of way. I have long become used to the fact that there is only one setting on the dial – a Spinal Tap-esque ‘11'.

I have also become used to the expectation that working constantly at warp factor 10 is to be seen as both expected and acceptable. Over the years, in a way that is invidiously imperceptible, I have found myself setting the alarm ever earlier and switching out the lights ever later. I've only added on five or 10 minutes at a time, scarcely noticing that the idea, let alone the reality, of 9.00am-5.00pm is now a distant memory.