You don’t need the Met Office’s State Of The UK Climate 2023 report to tell you that this has been a washout summer.

Though it felt like the wettest year since Noah got his start in boat building, it was in fact the seventh soggiest on record, with 113% of the 1991–2020 average.

So much rain brings with it certain risks, some of which are harder to anticipate than others.

For instance, as I was leaving the supermarket the other day (apologies if you were expecting an anecdote from the Venice Film Festival), the rain started to batter down.

Being too lazy to bring a brolly and too cheap to buy a carrier bag, I made my way to the car with an armful of shopping and started to fumble for the key. I could barely see a thing through my specs, but I was here now, and soon I would be out of the rain and heading home.

I pressed the key. Nothing. No click. Tried the door. Locked. Did the same thing over and over again to no avail. The situation just did not compute.

Even when I noticed that there was a child in the back, snug in their car seat, it didn’t occur to me that I was trying to get into someone else’s vehicle. Same make, model and colour, but not my car.

Finally, I heard the locks click and opened the door to see a woman in the driver’s seat. Clearly waiting in the car with her grandchild while someone else dashed into the supermarket.

Now, had this been anywhere other than Glasgow, and had we not been women of a similar age, it could have been awkward. As it was, we looked at each other, laughed, I apologised and we went our separate ways, no harm done.

Here’s to us, come rain or shine.