Ignacious was pacing up and down the Snowdonia Cheese Board, which had sat untouched on the kitchen dresser for weeks and was now being used as a thinking platform. He was worried. Very worried. As the lead mouse of Mature Vermin Asset Management (MVAM for short), this was hardly unusual. There were always things to worry about, but his mind usually returned to the same two: holidays and markets. This time, rather inconveniently, it was both. The stock markets, which are usually obligingly worrying, appeared strangely unconcerned by the oil price more than doubling and recession being whispered about in knowing tones. Ignacious felt this lack of concern was itself deeply concerning.

At the same time, his holiday plans were in turmoil. Italy was still on. Visiting cousins in Lombardy, the home of gorgonzola, was always a treat. But it was not going to be by plane. Instead, Italy would be reached by campervan. Ignacious knew campervanning appealed to many of his clients: freedom, flexibility, waking up somewhere different to walk to each morning. These were the long‑term ambitions his fellow mice worked hard to help make possible. And yet, he could not shake the feeling that campervans, much like markets, have a habit of lulling you into a false sense of security. Everything feels fine. Then, for no obvious reason at all, something mildly alarming happens and you find yourself reversing down a steep, narrow Cornish village high street, trying not to remove wing mirrors, hanging baskets, or what little pride you brought with you.

Campervanning, Ignacious concluded, requires a particular mindset. You must keep moving forward, change direction when needed, stay calm, and accept that not every manoeuvre will be elegant. It struck Ignacious that campervanning and markets were not all that different. Both demand the ability to hold opposing ideas at the same time: what feels uncomfortable now, and what still makes sense over time. You do not abandon the journey, but you do remain alert to the road ahead. You accept that the route may change without losing confidence in the direction.

As for the campervan holiday itself, that thought made Ignacious pull out. While the idea of having a toilet travel around with him did briefly appeal to this mouse of a certain age, the whole thing felt rather like a busman’s holiday, filling his time off with decisions at exactly the moment he was trying to escape them. Holidays, after all, were meant to reduce decisions, not replace them with a different version. It did, however, help him understand why campervanning appeals so strongly to those nearing retirement. As we age, we simply prefer to make our decisions together, a little more gently, and preferably with a cup of tea nearby.

Eventually, Ignacious stopped pacing. Perhaps the problem, he concluded, was staring too closely at the dashboard, both in markets and in campervans. The trick is not avoiding every bump in the road but accepting they will happen and making sure you are equipped to carry on regardless. He still worried, of course. Ignacious always does. But he felt slightly calmer. Which, for Ignacious, is about as relaxed as it gets.