I was in Copenhagen barely half a day and, my interview concluded, had two hours to burn before my flight. Just enough time to bag some cool Danish Christmas presents. A young concierge gave me a list of shops.

But wandering around department stores and even the smaller stores, a great ennui came over me. That old thrill of discovering a foreign city through its wares has gone. Every pair of boots, each scarf, perfume, gadget was available in London or, if not, on the internet. We complain of Britain’s Identikit high streets. But in retail terms Paris, Moscow, Berlin, New York are globalised clones. You might as well shop at the airport.

Only in poorer countries I’ve visited recently — Turkey, Mexico, Georgia —