On an overcast day, on a mid-winter evening, at the turn of the millenia, a man is feeling bitter as he locks up the soon-to-be-closed observatory at Greenwich where he has worked as a research scientist since the 1960s. Walking home, he is befriended by a strange little man who confides in him that the King will have it open again soon and reflects on the passing of time. They chat further as the little man walks him back to the village, both taking shelter under his umbrella from the rain. The little man, who seems somehow familiar, explains that while his friend Ace was shopping for a pair of Doc Martens he had decided to call on an old friend who happened to be out at the time.