Bill

…because my mother was a great believer in the kids were in the garden and she was in the house doing house wifey work: cleaning, cooking and washing. So we were quite frequently kicked out into the garden by her and expected to have our elevenses on the steps with a glass of orange juice and orange squash and biscuits. 

Baby Bill in the family garden, 1959

I've got happy memories of us playing in the garden really, you know, together. Up until the age, of... when he was 11. And then we just parted company. And actually, you know, they do come down here on a relatively regular basis. And we do enjoy each other's company. We're quite, quite different.

Bill and his younger brother Michael, 1966

And they always used to come back with crappy raffle presents and things like that, you know. And so Dad, I always thought, I mean, looking back now, it's dreadful that you know, he used to, obviously drink at these dinner and dances and always used to drive home. God knows how drunk he was when he used to drive home on a Saturday night.

Bill with his mum, Carol, 1959

We've never, we've never been a family that says, you know, I love you and or anything like that. I don't think my father ever said to me, I love you. But I always knew that he did.

Bill, 3 (right) with older sister Sarah (centre) and friend (name unknown), 1962

That's not to say that I'm not racist at a biological level because I am a great believer in potentially there is racism built-in. It's because that's the fight and flight thing of, you know, tribes and, you know, and that sort of attitude.

I would not want to be in the public eye. And...and be famous or infamous or anything else because I think you will attract weirdos who will abuse you, and there's nothing there's very little apparently you can do about it.

Bill, 1978

...because those memories are still in their brain. I now at the age of 62 have still have childhood memories, thank goodness (touch wood) all of which are reasonably positive. The idea that I could have images of abuse in my brain now at the age of 62, from when I was a child, appals me, absolutely, appals me

Bill (left standing) at his first Nativity school play at Vicarage Street School, Nuneaton, Christmas 1964

So, I deleted my Facebook page virtually there and then. I thought that's just ridiculous. And people scroll through their Facebook looking at what people are doing. I don't care. I really don't care what other people are doing and I don't want I don't think they should care about what I'm doing. So no, I don't do any social media at all.