I was just standing in the office loo, washing my hands, and suddenly a device attached to the wall puffed a jet of unspecified vapour into the air, with no apparent provocation.

I can only assume that it's some sort of new automatic air freshening device, and that it squirts out a jet of sweet-smelling stuff at regular intervals during the day.

But to understand my initial reaction to this incident, you have to be aware that I've been off work with a cold for two days this week, and I mostly spent those two days lying on the sofa watching James Bond movies. In that state of mind it's deeply unsettling when an innocuous-looking device produces an unexpected jet of gas. I found myself half expecting to be knocked unconscious and wake up to see Blofeld…