That night, I was given a belting from my father.
I can vividly remember the strange rough, hard texture of my skin after the thrashing.
Normally, after corporal punishment, my siblings and I would make fun of one another.
However, on this occasion, my bottom was in such a state that not a word was said.
The grammar school was a step up in terms of the intensity and frequency of corporal punishment.
It was an all-boys school with an all-male staff (referred to as ‘masters’ rather than ‘teachers’) .
Having moved halfway across the country that summer, it all felt frighteningly new and different compared to the relatively cosy world of my familiar old junior school.
In my very first lesson, the master gave three different boys the cane.