I always get to bed by half-past nine

There are so few of us backstage these days that invariably one or more of us end up working late to try to catch up with work undone. And invariably one or other of us has that attempt foiled by T.Aldous' coming along and talking at us until we see a bright light and start hallucinating. This evening's a rare opportunity: himself is out of the building. Mary and I are heads down to our tasks when Julia comes over.

"What time did he say he'd be back?" she asks.

"Round about now," answers Mary.

There followed an unseemly rush to clock out and leave the building.