I would like to thank Ian Borthwick and Rebecca Youé of BCS for kindly agreeing to publish this book; my wife Sharon for her unceasing encouragement; my children Bella, Matt and James, and their respective partners for their support; and my wonderful grandchildren for regularly reminding me that there’s much more to life than work.

Finally, I would like to thank Mr Evans, my English teacher at Thomas Adams School in Wem, for reasons that I hope will be obvious.