When I had just turned 10, my mother and father won a weekend trip away in a prize draw conducted by my dad’s company. Unfortunately, the prize was for only two people, so it had to be decided what was to be done with my elder sister and I.
My sister wanted to go and stay with her closest school friend, so that was decided. I was somewhat of a loner at school, though and the closest I had to a best friend was a boy called Brandon Rushton [names changed – Ed]. Brandon and his twin sister Letitia were the middle children in a total of seven siblings. I knew virtually nothing about his family and had never been to his house before, but they were happy to have me, so off I went.