I was half expecting to find someone else had dropped out when we regathered in the library, showered, changed and hair no longer resembling stale candy floss. I was a quarter expecting that person to be me. Maybe we all thought that having survived the morning’s ordeal it was silly to drop out now. Or perhaps whatever we faced in here it had to be less gruelling than the storm now blowing full pelt outside.

‘Time to get serious,’ Baxter announced from his armchair. ‘You have fifteen minutes to present your ten-year vision for the role. You were briefed in the email so my expectations are correspondingly high. Reverse order. Calvin Cotton, your time starts now.’

I wasn’t sure if going last was a plus or a negative, as all of the others (apart from Henry, of course) worked their way through presentation slides covering how weather was likely to change over the next decade, the potential for weather broadcasters to help support environmental issues, the move away from traditional television to online apps. There was some level of repetition, but even Summer managed a competent job of exploring how becoming a social media influencer could benefit BWM Today.

When it came to my turn, I knew that what I had to say could either lead me to the role of national weather presenter, or straight to the bottom of the scoreboard. There was only one way to find out.

‘We’ve heard a lot this afternoon about how the weather is changing. We’ve heard more about how we can play a part in helping address the horrendous catastrophe that we as meteorologists have been forecasting for decades. Thanks to Calvin and Summer, we’ve also had a masterclass in how we can best convey this vital information due to even more rapid changes in media and technology. But I wanted to talk about one thing that never changes. People. And how people love to connect with other people. We are built for community. The only way to tackle this momentous challenge is together. Whether we find that community when chatting to our neighbours over the garden wall, or via a Twitter hashtag, we all need it.

‘So, I’m not a futurist, I can’t tell you with any certainty how we will be connecting in ten years’ time, but I can tell you that we will be connecting, because that’s what people do. And I don’t see why the weather should be any different.