‘At least I have people to talk to when I go to work,’ Kate smiled when we finally managed to catch up on Skype. Kate is living in Australia for love and missing her friends back home. ‘By the time I can get hold of someone I’m usually over the current crisis,’ she said and we laughed.

I relayed the conversation to a friend, who also has a close friend living far away – in Florida. ‘Everyone drives there and my friend is missing the coffee catch-up culture she enjoyed in Europe. I don’t know what I’d do without mine; the coffee mornings are like group therapy sessions.’

Talking among friends helps us gain perspective; we see the ridiculousness of our relationship rows, the possibilities associated with unstoppable change and gain confidence from sharing similar experiences.

And when we really mess up – a friend asked after the company’s drug-testing policy during a recent US-based interview – or have particularly cringe-worthy meetings then our re-telling helps us to move from the ridiculous to the not-quite-sublime.

However, guys are less likely to share relationship or work woes. Perhaps if one doesn’t discuss a problem, it might work itself out on its own. Like a splinter, though, the wound takes a bit longer to heal without any help. There’s an Irish blessing for those who prefer to keep their problems to themselves, ‘As you slide down the banister of life, may all the splinters be going in the right direction.’