I could do no wrong. I was mummies little blue eyed boy. The sun shone out of an unlikely area of my anatomy. Well that was my sister's opinion of me in 1968. Even today she truly believes that I fall in the soft and smelly and come up smelling of roses.

Eighteen months separated us. When I became an adult and then a father I retained the opinion that I really did not like girls when they reached the age of nine. We enjoyed a mutual hate / hate relationship for many years thereafter.

Whatever my sister's problems were I had no interest. I lived in my own head for much of the time and only came out to eat or play with my friends. What the world had to offer at this time in my life were filled with anger and conflict.

I don't think I could describe my parents as alcoholics. They were heavy and regular drinkers it is true but never during the day. By the time my brother Chris was 3 years old (1968), on weekday evenings, if they were not touting for band business, both Mum and Dad would go out for a drink at one of the local clubs. We knew which one they would be at and it was only 5 minutes away. Never the less we were left on our own. My sister was supposedly in charge but I was not inclined to submit to her alleged authority. We got on occasionally but this was an exception to the rule.

 

Walking The Path is now available in paperback See http://www.shaneward.co.uk for details