I’m a big fan of pauses – or, more precisely, suspensions – in tango. Not only because there are moments where the music is very clearly asking us to wait (though with apparent ‘not applicable in London’ asterisks), but because followers have often said it’s one of their favourite elements of the dance.

I have been known to lead a suspension for a full phrase, but my current one is lasting rather longer …

I suffered an injury in early June, and am currently awaiting surgery to fix it. I wouldn’t have described my dance as particularly athletic, but while I’ve been able to walk and cycle without too much discomfort, tango proved to be a step too far. (Insert ‘Doctor, it hurts when I do X’/‘Well, don’t do X, then’ line here.)

The consultant surgeon has classified it as urgent, but the NHS and I have somewhat different definitions of the word. He’s said he’d like to operate within four weeks, but the urgent waiting lists currently extend up to four months, so all he can say for now is it’ll be somewhere in that range, and he’ll be pushing for the former end. These decisions are, naturally, made by administrators rather than surgeons.

To add to the fun, I have a genetic blood clotting disorder which increases the risk of complications, which could extend the typical recovery time of six weeks.

So, the best case is that I’m back on the dance floor in November; the worst(ish) case is March.

This will be by far my longest time away from tango since I started dancing. (My lawyer will be along shortly with a comprehensive set of lockdown denials and disclaimers …)

Update: It was six months, almost to the day.