No talking in the car or at the dinner table. My Dad hated, and still hates, chitchat or even talking about important things. He finds talking generally unnecessary and doesn’t get why people say anything unless it’s vitally important. He’d get on very well as a monk with a vow of silence.

When I went in a car with friends, or had dinner at their house they would often remark that I was too quiet and I found it quite odd that talking at the table and in the car was OK in their lives. It took me many years to be able to talk in the car and I’m still a lot quieter in the car and at dinner tables than everyone else.