Whilst nodding off at my desk on Monday afternoon last week, I decided it was time for a coffee. We do have coffee making facilities in the office, but the last such cup I made was hideously rough, so I decided to buy one from a shop downstairs. I ordered a latte, but as is often the case it had a lot of froth on it. I don't really care for froth and bubble in a coffee (I've never consumed a cappuccino and I intend to keep it that way); as far as I'm concerned a latte is supposed to have a bare minimum of froth, as opposed to the almost-an-inch worth that was delivered in this particular cup.

Even so, I headed back to the office, sipping away some of the froth and bubble. Alas, when I got to the entrance of the Forum (the office block in which I work), it was doing a violent impression of a wind tunnel. I eyed my froth nervously and noted that it was building up on one side of the cup, but otherwise staying where it was. I thought the danger would pass, but then -- gust! whisk! -- my coffee froth abandoned me post haste, partly splattering up my left sleeve, the rest of it rushing back into the forum plaza, seriously splattering some poor woman about five paces behind me.

As a general rule, one doesn't expect to be hit at range by coffee froth. Bear this in mind next time you walk into a wind tunnel, and don't stand downwind of a coffee drinker.