When I was about 12, I used to visit a large family living nearby. There was one daughter about 17, two others Jean and Susan about my age, and Susan’s twin brother Tom. There were also a several younger brothers and sisters – a typical Catholic Irish family. The elder sister, Maeve, usually ignored me when I was at the house, but Tom had warned me not to cross her, or else…
One evening Tom, Susan, Jean and I had been messing around in Tom’s bedroom. We started bouncing on the bed. Unfortunately, while Susan was having her go, she struck a glancing blow to Tom’s ceramic-base bedside lamp – it fell on to the lino-covered floor and smashed into about a dozen pieces.