I was a rather strait-laced teenager for the 1960s. There are moments when I think, oh my goodness I did miss out on certain things. I’d certainly want to say to my younger self, relax a bit. Beware of perfectionism, judgementalism. I think there was a streak of that.
I was an only child and that always creates a slightly hothouse atmosphere. I’d also been a very unhealthy child. I had meningitis when I was very small and that left me with a few minor, but not negligible, health problems. My recollection of teenage years is spending quite a lot of time at home or in bed with various respiratory ailments.
I’m not sure that my parents quite understood that. They were churchgoers, but they didn’t fancy my being too enthusiastic about it. And they were politically very conservative and didn’t much like the sort of ideas
