The village was boring and my Aunt Katharine was typical of the women who lived there; she didn’t work but had her nose in numerous village committees. To finish my education I went to stay with my aunt and uncle who lived in a large old house outside a small village between Oxford and Banbury. Aunt Katherine was my mother’s older sister, but unlike my mother she was very strict with me, always nagging me about my homework or jobs I had to do around the house.