"Eventually, I was removed to a school called Forres, run by two dear old ladies who did not tolerate bullying of any sort. In fact, there was just as much bullying as there had been at Little People's School, but the Forres monster Lionel Gertz, warned his victims that, should they tell, their lives would become one long nightmare. Unable to tell my mother or the headmistresses - I was as mesmerized by fears as the next boy - I began to give Gertz prizes - marbles, catapults, biltong sticks, anything to placate him.

Eventually Gertz left and I have only happy memories of Forres after that. Apart from standard academic lessons, the school emphasized handicrafts. I have long been thankful for the lessons in raffia-work, egg and teapot-cosy making and, above all, darning and sewing."