I am back at home after a successfully simple drive from Ottawa. Dorothy is just as I imagined her, complete with the remnants of an American accent. The weather was perfect — for February — until about three in the afternoon, when I stopped for coffee at the Cambridge service centre. All was grey but okay when I went in, but fifteen minutes later, on opening the door to leave, I found myself in a maelstrom of snow.

From Cambridge to Stratford, highway 401 to 8 to 7, I drove slowly and very prudently, with four-way flashers on and every nerve-end firing. Visibility was terrible, ranging from about 30 metres to white-out, and the road was quickly covered. The snow fell so thickly that the SATNAV stopped receiving signals and the car’s collision-warning system kept beeping. I would have been happier in my old 1986 Golf with automatic nothing.

However, here I am in my comfy chair with the cat, so it was just another Canadian travel experience.