A Military Upbringing4

My parents divorced when I was 11 years old, and initially, I went to live with my mum, along with my sisters. This was a time when fathers got little in the way of access and as the divorce was a bitter affair, with both parents spending more time on their arguments than their children, I soon began to come off the rails at school, and as mum did not punish me, apart from the odd whack with the slipper. Between 11 and 13, I got into lots of little spats, bits of shoplifting, and general naughtiness both in and out of school. School reacted with frequent use of the slipper (the plimsoll used on most English schoolchildren), damning report cards, and notes home to my mum. Despite these punishments, I paid no real heed, continuing to play the ‘Big I Am.