There are moments that time slows down and the universe asks you to think very very carefully about what you say next. When I was younger I just tossed off clever ripostes – I never thought about the landing only the launching

Yeah, I really- I really miss her. There’s nobody. Nobody like her.”

Dear Sophia: I have a private client, a lovely woman who travels a lot for business. It’s always fun when I pick her up and we chitchat. “Oh” she said last year “you are living at the marina? You must meet my friend David.” I have a friend that I met through a social initiative.

Dear Sophia: It used to be that no matter who they were or where you picked them up, riders would always walk around the car to be in the seat diagonally opposite from the driver. This means you can make eye contact in the rear view mirror. Before the lockdowns I would occasionally get someone

So, I fired up the Spotify, got the Wiggles on and played the Hokey Pokey really loud. Everyone in the intersection, including me, stopped what we were doing and did the hokey pokey. With masks and smiling eyes. I got in my car and drove on to pick up other riders.

“Leave it to me” I said flooring it “I’m basically a traffic superhero”. I was bragging – it was a dark, rainy Monday and no one was around anyway.

This one fellow gets into the car early Sunday morning. Very flirty, very cute. Chatting me up, I imagine just for the sport of it. Just because he can. Practice even. Let’s call him Sonny.

Of the process I went through analysing all the different countries I could possibly move to. About my spreadsheet and the quality of life analysis that I spent quite a lot of time researching like a big weirdo nerd.

He said “Ask me about my wildest night out”

I did and then “In Oamaru?” My voice rising slightly at the end.

“Still going” she said “I need to do a quick change and head out again – and like a movie star starts zhuzzing herself in the back seat. She had long, blonde hair and she was wearing a headband. Her name was Alice.