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5where near the huers hut on Pentire head. (The huers hut was where someone looked out for pilchards in the season). When they were seen he would hue or call out and the fishing boats would go out and net them. The catch would then be brought in and the women folk would pack the pilchards in salt in barrels for export. This was a major source of income for a time, but it went very much into decline at the end of the 19th century). In a rough sea you could stand and watch the spray leaping up over the cliff. We also went to the Hooper cave, supposedly discovered by an Uncle Walter. It was hard to see from the land, but he had seen it and marked it when out at sea fishing. I think that it has been blown up for some reason now.I was born on 1st March 1946 in Ruislip Middlesex. When I was 6 the family moved to Great Bookham in Surrey and that is where my memories begin. I was sent to a primary school called The Spinney just a short cycle ride from our house. The main thing that I remember about that is that we had to lie down on camp-beds for a while after lunch. Very boring. When I was 8, I was sent to a preparatory school, Parkside. We were taught Latin and French and prepared for the Common Entrance exam. We took the eleven plus, but I don%u2019t think we had any coaching for it. The school was a feeder for the public-school system and so did not really want boys to fall out of that system and go to Grammar Schools. As far as I remember only one of my friends did. While at the school I went on a privately arranged exchange trip to France. Jill came with me as support. We stayed in Gravelines in a house with an outside toilet in the yard. This was just over a tank which was emptied each week. A lorry turned up and a jointed section of pipe was laid through the hall. This was let down into the tank beneath the toilet and the contents sucked out. When it was finished, the lengths of pipe were uncoupled leaving a little pile of sewage at each joint which the mother then cleaned up. The yard was full of flies, and she left food out there to cool before eating. Not surprising I got a dose of food poi-