Rosemary Gold suppressed a smile. ‘Well now, Bertie,’ she said. ‘I believe you’re right. But we’ve never really seen a picture of the Prime Minister’s moral compass, have we?’ She paused. ‘Perhaps it’s in Kirkcaldy. And I’m not sure if he’s the only one who’s got one. Maybe we’ve all got a moral compass tucked away inside us, you know.’ She looked at Tofu as she spoke – she could not help it; that was where her gaze went. ‘But enough of that, boys and girls! Let’s get on with our exciting little compass game. It’s called North by North-East.’

The rules of the game were carefully explained. Everyone was to have a turn at holding the compass and then looking in a particular direction. They were then to identify one object that lay along that bearing. Then the compass was passed to another, a bearing would be called out, and the children had to rush in the direction of whatever object had been associated with that direction. The object would be touched, and the one who touched it first would have the opportunity to hold the compass when the next set of objects was identified.

It was a thrilling game, played with exuberance. At the end of the session, when minor wounds had been dressed and Rosemary Gold had adjudicated on Olive’s complaint that Tofu had pulled her hair and spat at her in the rush to touch a chair at the end of the hall, the compass was put away and the children were all given a sealed envelope to take back to their parents.

‘This is a very important letter,’ explained Rosemary Gold. ‘It’s about an exciting thing that we’re planning for you and that I think you’re going to enjoy very much indeed! But we won’t talk about it just yet, as it’s often better to keep some things until nearer the time. It’s a bit like saving the best bit of cake until later.’