Since the cold weather began, I’ve been having a problem with my car in that I couldn’t get the windscreen properly clear. I’ve been hurtling down the M1 with only smeared taillights to guide me.

Yesterday, my screenwash ran out just short of J26, so I soldiered on home not daring to use my wipers at all for fear of losing even more vision.

Last time I topped up the screenwash, I did it in the cold and dark one night on finding that the current screenwash wasn’t helping clear the frost of the windscreen. Checking on my bottles in the boot of various things that go in the car, I realise quite why the smearing was happening.

I’d poured antifreeze into the screenwash silo and not, er, screenwash.

Now, with new screenwash in there, the problem has gone away again, and I can see once more.