Our dinner host was happy to see us, until the smell hit him

Sir, - I acquired a second-hand Honda 50 when I was 19 and it became the trusty mode of transport that took me to and from college. It also got me and my girlfriend – now my wife of almost 50 years – everywhere else in the mid-1970s.

One time, we were invited to dinner at a friend’s house in Lucan. As I lived near the Phoenix Park, we decided to cut through the park to shorten the trip. It was a foggy evening and as we approached a fork in a narrow road, I lost my bearings and we careered onto a grassy patch.

Relatively unscathed, we arrived at our friend’s door, who swiftly gave us a reaction of disgust because of the horrible smell wafting its way from us. Only then did we realise we had “safely” landed on a massive cow pat from one of the hordes of cattle that used to wander around the park.

Needless to say, we weren’t turned away, but given access to his bathroom and spare clothes, while our own clothes were quickly bagged.