When Two’s a Crowd

I was on a weekend away in the Cotswolds with old school friends recently. A medieval sarcophagus was standing outside the porch entrance to an ancient abbey, lid off invitingly in the late afternoon sun. Normally I would exercise solemn respect and walk on by. But on that day none of us were on our best behaviours and egged on by friends, I climbed in.

I stretched out at the base of the coffin in my best entombed knight pose, wrists crossed over my chest and closed my eyes. It was remarkably co...