If we go out today, chances are it will begin with me standing at the bottom of the stairs screeching. Or I may be at the door screeching, or even in the car screeching.

And what will I be screeching? “Come on! Hurry up!”

My husband is a terrible timekeeper. If we’re going out he takes so long to get ready that we rarely leave until after lunch.

To remedy this, I make a point of telling him that we’re setting off an hour before planned, but even then he will emerge in a flustered state – hair dripping from the shower, boots unlaced, and a tense look on his face as he fumbles around for his keys.

He isn’t typically British, because most of us are obsessed with being punctual. A new study reveals that 62 per cent of us believe that being late is inexcusable, with 83 per cent stating that our fixation with being on time is uniquely British.

I wouldn’t say that. If European railways are anything to judge by, other countries are extremely punctual. If a train timetable says it will arrive at 11.14 then it will.

I don’t think the same can be said in Britain – every morning at the station I hear the word ‘delayed’ on the tannoy. And not just once.

I place great store on punctuality, along with 44 per cent of Brits, who believe that being more than five minutes late is unacceptable.

But some people are always late – one of my friends is renowned as the one who is never on time. She is always expected at least half an hour after the rest of us meet up.

Until I started writing about this topic, I always assumed that timekeeping was something we can easily control.

I had no idea that some people suffer from ‘chronic lateness’ to such an extent that they undergo hypnotism to combat it.

Without doubt, my eldest daughter has inherited my husband’s chronic lateness genes. I’m constantly hovering outside the door prompting her to hurry up, get her shoes on – and often socks too – and fetch her coat.

Whereas her sister is the other extreme, ready half an hour before everyone else and barking orders for us all to get a move on.

The older we get the more punctual we become – 82 per cent of over-55s claim to never be late. “There is hope for you yet,” I told my husband.

“Older people are on time because they’re all retired and doing things they really want to do,” he retorted, as he kept me waiting for 20 minutes before our weekly trip to Asda.