To many people, I may come across as peculiar.

This statement is based upon the fact that I hold one particular value close to my personal ethos that many of my friends—and dare I say society—have decided to lessen their grasp on, and that value is punctuality.

I have lost count of the number of times I’ve turned up for an event/party/gathering and the person(s) that I am meeting have sent me a “Sorry, running 5 mins late” text, whereas I had arrived at the destination 15 minutes early, all because I detest being late.

Being late to anything, whether it be work, a catch-up with friends, or cinema (by God, do I need to be there for the previews), is my idea of a living hell. I suddenly become overpowered by a cocktail of dread, sweat, and embarrassment—what trust have I broken by being late? The prospect of being late will always be an itch that I can’t scratch.

But there is an ointment for my punctuality sores, and that is the National Rail Enquiries application—my beloved, most used app. As I live out in the sticks of Oaklands, Welwyn, I commute into Kings Cross daily and on weekends (when I decide to have a social life). Checking the National Rail app in the morning to ensure my train is running on time before I’ve left my house is a feeling that I imagine junkies get after finding their fix in the early hours of a cold February Wednesday morning.

Having the app gives me a nice little de-stressor, keeping me safe in the knowledge that the trains are running on schedule and that I won’t be late. I can’t say the same for my friends, though.