As I drove down the muddy track the thunderstorm broke, the car went out of control and I lurched into the ditch.

The satnav had broken a few miles back, and travelling to this rural part of Devon to my new job was turning out to be a nightmare.  The rain lashed across the windscreen like a wave from the sea, blanking out the world.  As I revved the engine in the ‘drive’ gear, the wheels span and I was going nowhere.  All I could see in the rear-view mirror was a torrent of Devon’s bright red mud churned up by the back wheels that were spinning uselessly.

Not for the first time I wondered if it had been a good idea to accept this post in the back of beyond.  Everything had gone wrong so far, from my streaming flu that had started two days ago, to the flat…