Donald Trelford and I were at Bablake school, Coventry: he was head boy and gave me a detention for not wearing my school cap – obligatory even outside the school.
A Dickensian headteacher ran a strict regime, with art, music, and literature beyond the Shakespearean canon viewed as effeminate. It was to Donald’s great credit that he became such a well-rounded and liberal journalist after undergoing such a schooling.
John Green
