Then in the last week of term, one poor lad forgot his. I remember talking to him during the lunch break. He was terrified at the prospect of getting 12 of the slipper. He was already in tears when he walked out to the front of the class. In fact the teacher rather generously sentenced him to 6. That was still quite a lot for a sensitive lad and he did not take it terribly well. Obviously some boys were braver than others. Some could take a hard walloping and not cry; others shed bucketloads of tears. Quite a few boys were already crying when they bent over. But as I said, most of us coped pretty well.