I hadn’t realised until very recently how difficult it was to avoid stepping in time to the Benny Hill theme tune.  The task was thrust upon me this week as I approached NatCon 2023 whilst a group of very British anti-Brexit protestors gave the conference a wonderful sense of occasion by playing music loudly, wearing top hats and waving empty bin bags under the noses of the attendees who had been dismissed as heartless Brexiteers by those seeking to tolerate everybody.

This cheap stunt juxtaposed beautifully with the profundity of what was taking place inside.