‘I can remember cowering under the kitchen table’ Growing up an only child, I sensed my mum Margo and dad James weren’t happy together.
Dad’s family were from Sicily, but we’d lived in Leighton Buzzard all my life.
A slim man, Dad was self-obsessed and vain.
He was strict, too, ruling the household with an iron fist.
Silly things like me accidentally knocking a drink over meant he’d lash out.
Illiterate, over the years Dad had various jobs doing building work, maintenance, working in a pig slaughterhouse.
Meanwhile, Mum worked long evenings at a tea factory.
Didn’t dare say no
Though it wasn’t the perfect situation, we bumbled along.
But then, one night, when I was about 4, Mum was at work and Dad and I were watching telly together.…
