There is nothing better, when the weather is desperate and the rain is coming off the trees, than a scarf.

I once wrenched my shoulder. It was as painful as it sounds. I would have been on my first car at the time. It was a bit of a beast, and I suspect I changed gear before the Nova was quite ready. It was a cheap and rattly but temperamental car.

It was the middle of December, the sky was bleak, we hadn’t seen the sun in what felt like months, and I must have pulled a whole host of muscles. I pulled muscles I didn’t know I had. I pulled muscles I don’t have now. That’s how much I knackered my shoulder.

Anywho, with the wind giving everyone the same facial expression and the roads running with slush, I was wearing a scarf, and I learned the most important thing about scarf ownership. When push comes to shove and your shoulder is stuck, a knitted scarf makes a very adequate interim sling.

It’s good advice: always carry a scarf.