In August 2002, I visited Florida on holiday. In return for what seemed like 7 successive days at theme parks in sweltering weather, my family kindly allowed me a visit to the Kennedy Space Center which was a fantastic day out.

As luck would have it, a shuttle launch was actually scheduled during our stay so I planned to drive out to the highway to watch it. Unfortunately, the initial launch was postponed due to inclement weather conditions so I sporadically checked the TV and radio for the rearranged launch date and time.

One afternoon, I returned to the car and turned the radio on. I was disappointed to hear that the shuttle had just launched. However, what was infuriating was that I was only located a few miles away from KSC and missed a once in a lifetime opportunity because I was, err, shopping.

So, at the precise moment the space shuttle was blasting off into outer space, I was traipsing around Wal-Mart, for reasons that now escape me, hunting for a Phillips screwdriver, a pair of nail scissors and 4 AAA batteries.