It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, so the Bible says, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.

If the church ever felt like updating its teaching, they might like to swap the proverbial camel for ‘a father of teenage girls’, and ‘the eye of a needle’ for ‘securing tickets to see Taylor Swift’.

Even then, I reckon my money might be on the rich man making it past the pearly gates first.

For those of you fortunate for not to have daughters of a certain age, you’ll have been spared one of those traumatic episodes where your failure as a father is writ large.

Taylor Swift, currently touring the US on her Eras tour – a critically acclaimed, all singing, all dancing three-hour romp through her greatest hits – announced last month that she would be touring Europe next summer.

When tickets went on sale in the US, fans were treated to crashing websites and ‘dynamic pricing’, meaning that like plane fares, prices went up as the tickets remaining went down.

Most tickets for big concerts in this country work in the same way: there’s a time of sale, everyone logs in, hammers refresh repeatedly and hopes for the best.

That’s what happens with Glastonbury, for example: there’s a straightforward bunfight one Sunday morning and the whole thing is done and dusted within the hour.

Taylor Swift’s promoter, Ticketmaster, decided instead to opt for a cruel summer of death by a thousand cuts.

Firstly, fans had a short window in late June to pre-register for tickets. More information was promised on July 5.

But on this day, that decision was delayed until July 14 as to whether or not you’d randomly been selected for the next round.

Meanwhile, those fans who had pre-ordered Swift’s album Midnights last autumn were given a week to buy tickets in the pre-sale.

Without the crucial code, I could only watch delighted ticket buyers basking in the afterglow on social media, and wait for my July 14 deadline. When that arrived, I was left marooned: You’re On The Waitlist!

Ticketmaster cheerfully messaged us ticket losers.

For the chosen few, the remaining tickets went faster than Usain Bolt. Those allowed off the waitlist were faced with deciding whether their daughter was worth a £600 VIP ticket.

Briefly, I thought I’d beaten the system. A fortunate friend had somehow bought tickets for two different venues but only wanted to go once. Phew! But then Ticketmaster changed their rules.

The concerts were relabelled a ‘lead booker’ event, meaning the person buying them had to go. Taylor and I, it seems, are never ever getting back together …