Some things in life truly amaze me - like the peace one finds in observing a sitting cat, the many shades of green on nature's palette, and the driving laws in Belgium. But none could equal Berlin's decadent night life . I sometimes still sit upright in bed at 3am vividly recalling a recent assignment.

In hindsight I feel privileged to have met the people I did. I’ve come away feeling secure about my eccentricities and personal hang-ups, like cleanliness and perfection, and not touching stuff and not consuming products derived from animals, and how the smell of centipedes can instantly evoke nausea in me.

There are so many pressures in society which, if you give it a moment’s thought, all start in the crib. Pressure to walk, potty train, read, write, be polite, study, study more, learn to drive, university, lucrative employment, work pressures, mortgage. It’s no wonder most of us are taking some form of medication to suppress these anxieties; but even then some of us crack. The individuals I encountered in Berlin have found an alternative therapy.

It might not be everyone’s cup of tea but if that’s what some folk prefer, so be it. In fact, I’d rather have that going on behind closed doors and then deal with a pleasant person the following day, as opposed to the likes of the anally insipid twat I dealt with at Customs & Excise recently. Perhaps they (Customs & Excise) should consider going to Berlin for their next departmental pow-wow.