When young I wrote a lot of letters (which have now become emails), and I even enjoyed writing essays for my English teacher. I reviewed lectures at our magic club for Abracadabra, a weekly magic magazine. I made short runs (carbon copies, in the days before photocopiers) of a mocking magazine at school. I even won some money with a Reader's Letter to Private Eye (a UK satirical magazine).
My father wrote both puppet plays, and 'How-to' books. He had a way with words.
My mother coached actors to speak Shakespearean verse naturalistically, so that a modern audience could understand and enjoy it without a lot of old-fashioned histrionics.
These facts contributed to my love of language, and in particular, the English language, whether written, spoken or sung.
