Nothing’s like it used to be in the good old days: when life was more simple and people took their time. Except at the Idler Academy, where it still is exactly that. On offer in this bookshop, besides the copies of cultural classics by Virgil and Huxley that line the shelves, are an assortment of courses, lectures and events that range in content from ‘British Gang Crime’ to ‘Calligraphy’, all with a focus on taking one’s time.

Perhaps truancy wouldn’t be such an issue in schools today if everyone were sustained with wine and cake while they studied – as they are at the Academy.