In fact, we’re all lying down, lying on the floor: me, my granddaughter Annie, and Colson the magic fabricator elf who may or may not be her lover. I’m laughing because we’re alive, and because the blastproof glass was a caprice, a moment of absurd housekeeping. I got it spare when we supplied a chemical plant in Royston and they changed the design at the last minute. I said: "I’ll have it." I installed it myself through the whole house, with the help of a friendly builder, and when he asked me why, I said: "You never know when you might be grateful for a second chance."