At parting, they bestowed a cup on him of a miraculous make, for it was ever full of wine, let the drinker be ever so drouthy.

She said goodbye in a stammer.

One day, after having been advised by two babushki on the metro that Aarno’s boots were on the wrong feet (this time, at least, they were not), Nicole and I joined our new friends, Irina and Vera, two children’s psychologists, with our cranky one-year-old.

But I must warn you that chipboard floors are always likely to squeak. The material is still being used in new-builds, but developers now use adhesive to bed and joint it, rather than screws or nails. I suspect the adhesive will eventually embrittle and crack, resulting in the same squeaking problems as before.