The bad influence

I grew up in all-girl household – me, Andrea or Andi – and my sisters Katherine and Elizabeth, aka Lizzy. Our parents were strict with us, and this was a time when smacking was common in British homes and indeed still permitted in schools too.

I was not the naughtiest of the children (I submit), but it’s true that I did have a tendency to be easily led as a child – no more so than in my second year of grammar school, at the age of 12.