If anybody has been trying to telephone the Edinburgh offices of that sterling organisation, the Professional Association of Teachers in Scotland (who? Ed), they might have gained the impression that nobody ever seems to be there.

Not so. We learn from Jim O’Neill, the union’s professional officer for Scotland, that “for some obscure technical reason, our phone system doesn’t give an engaged tone so, if you ring the office and get a continuous ringing tone, that means the line is engaged. So please hang on or try again later.” How could we not have realised that?

Alternatively, forget it and try your luck with fax or email.