1973 I was born in London on 22/10/73. I went to Lawdale primary school in the Eastend of London which is where I lived for most of my life - before moving to South London. I had a pretty uneventful childhood, usual illnesses that don't make for very pleasant reading. 1984 My parents were mature students from the time I was about 9, which is why we went to France for a year in September 1984 to June 1985 (Pau - a region near the Pyrenees) as mum was studying a French and Philosophy degree. It was a great experience, walking down the boulevard to a backdrop of mountains, one of which I climbed. It was also the one and only time I played Rugby. From this I learned that if you are a skinny kid, who has not learned to run very fast, you stop playing Rugby! The food was great, running down to the shops to get freshly baked bread at lunch time was one of the things that I missed most of all. The only bad thing about the experience was that the pop music was dreadful, oh and going to school on Saturday mornings!