I mean, of course, a run in the sense of a sequence. Regular readers, I presume, knew it didn’t mean moving at a speed above walking. It would be remarkable, I admit, but not prudent or likely. I am a man more fitted for ambling than running.

The run I refer to is acceptances. In September I sent off six submissions and in October, two. In an ideal world I would have four chances to submit each month, but in the real world submissions aren’t so evenly spread. I have just had the eighth acceptance. Despite my worries about whether the bubble is about to burst, I’m quite pleased with that, and despite the dangers of immodesty, I’d like to share it. Half the pleasure of having things go well is the ability to tell people.

Having shared it, I won’t labour the point as I have to get writing again – I am, as I always say only as good as the next lot.

Today in the shop has also been remarkable. We seen two customers return, who had not been seen since lockdown. Yes, it has taken that long to recover, and we have had a new, young customer for the second week in a row. It’s always been hard to attract new collectors to the hobby, so this is a good sign. Whether they last is another matter, as there are always plenty of distractions.

In the afternoon we had a run of sales on eBay, including three good medallions to three different customers. It’s strange how these things go – we had only just been discussing the fact that we hadn’t sold a decent medallion for quite a while. The trick is to keep putting something new on, which attracts attention. Unfortunately, it’s difficult motivating yourself to put new stuff on when none of the similar old stuff is selling.

The psychology of eBay is a fascinating subject – both the psychology of the buyers, and of the sellers. I watched a programme on IKEA last week and discovered that there are academics who devote all their time to the study of retail. Who would have guessed that the study of shopping could be a career choice?