It’s advice season. The time of year when the older, allegedly wiser, dispense advice — whether it is wanted or not. These pearls are thrust on to graduates hunting for jobs or taking their first steps on the career ladder. In offices around the world, it is dealt out to those on work experience.

In the UK, a key date in advice season fell last week. It was A-level results day (exams for 17- and 18-year-olds paving the way to jobs, courses and universities).

There’s something about the metaphorical ripping open of envelopes containing exam results that sends adults on a nostalgia trip. It’s a collective opportunity to think back on our youth — a time of fresh-faced promise, unencumbered by mortgages and responsibilities. Like Proust’s madeleines — but with more exams and less cake.