It was only when our three boats were gently chugging in formation down the River Ant, that we knew it was all going to be just fine. The Norfolk Broads are breathtakingly pretty. Driving a boat is excellent fun. And we’d all brought fancy dress and enough booze to knock out a herd of medium sized elephants.

There was, surprisingly, no cabin fever, no boredom, and no serious injuries, all of which you might expect with a group of people who were colleagues before they were friends. But we did empty the Wroxham branch of Tesco of their supply of drinking straws, Triple Sec and pineapples; cooked communally; dressed up as sailors, pirates and alarming creatures of the sea; made merry and danced until the very small hours.  One of the great things about being on a boat, it seems, is that you can moor up in the middle of nowhere and have a blinding party. Three nights in a row.