This Underwire is late. I am late. I can’t find my phone charger, my keys or even a can opener. This is because I’ve just returned to Los Angeles after an unexpected stay in Atlanta of over a year and half, and now I find myself in a house with five working adults, one shower, one pick-up truck and six cats. We are gingerly staking out our territories – the cats and I – so unpacking my life contained in two suitcases was about all I could manage last week. So this is going to be a short one.

On my way back to LA I made a short stop in Chicago. I was guest at a movie fan convention, broke bread with the future in-laws of my son, made a surprise visit to a colleague’s lingerie boutique, and spent a glorious day tooling down the Chicago river marvelling at the mosaic of modern architecture from my seat on a tour boat. It was my first visit to the city, but as my daughter’s boyfriend will be attending the University of Chicago Law School, it certainly won’t be my last.

Now back to finding that can opener.