That evening, some five or six hours after the spanking, I examined my bum in the mirror and it was still a vivid shade of pink! She also commended my parents on their teaching that I should own up and face consequences.
Well, I had sobbed on that day I got my bottom throughly smacked. But it was nothing to the tears I shed when I read that note as an adult.
Mum and Dad never spoke again about that note from Mrs Hamilton. On the odd occasion that our paths crossed at school, she would always acknowledge me with a ‘good morning’ or say: “Hello, James – how are you?” All warm and friendly – but I knew now there was another side to Mrs Hamilton and I never wanted to see that side again!