This time she jumps in way too quickly. ‘The roof is still on, so you can take a deep breath and get back to work. I hear it’s going well for you in France.’

So she’s spoken to one of them at least, then.

‘It’s very different and no two days are the same. There’s no time to get bored, that’s for sure,’ I reply, truthfully.

‘You can’t worry about home, Fern. Just enjoy your little stint of freedom. I would.’

Georgia is hiding something from me.

‘So, there’s nothing I should be concerned about at the moment?’

‘Nope.’ Well, her tone infers she’s not prepared to give anything away, so I might as well give up and pretend I believe her. ‘Good. Great, in fact. How are the kids?’

That sets off a whole twenty-minute long monologue about wishing she didn’t drive as all she is these days, is a taxi service. With Steve off sick and unable to get behind the wheel, Georgia is feeling frazzled. I’m glad I called, just because she needed a listening ear, but I don’t feel reassured in any way.

With this week’s arrivals due to fly home later this afternoon, I have to head off shortly for this morning’s experimental workshop. One of the courses Pierce has run in the past with great success, apparently, is a Self-Awareness course. Twelve of the attendees are taking part, which surprised us all.

It’s something he usually runs over two full days as it’s aimed at gaining a clearer understanding of one’s strengths, weaknesses, inhibitions and overall motivation. He says it’s really about establishing a path to happiness. Learning to unlearn things which hold us back or threaten to stifle our ability to think outside the box. All very thought-provoking stuff and interesting.

There’s one exercise from the second day of the course that he feels will work particularly well here as a debrief. A good way, he thinks, to spend the last morning when there’s a lot of goodwill in the group now they have gelled and bonds have been formed.

Pierce asked Yann and me if we’d join in because it works best with a larger group, but, in addition, he’s looking for feedback. He’s expecting us to write a little report about how well it’s received by those taking part.

‘Right. If everyone can grab a sheet of paper off the easel and write their name in the top right-hand corner.’