ON THE WALK HOME

Standing at the school gates, I saw my son, Amar, 10, running over with a grin. What’s he going to ask for now? I thought, laughing to myself.

He didn’t want to walk home with me and his sister as usual.

Please can I stay and play football, Mum?’ he begged. ‘All my friends walk home alone.’

‘Fine,’ I relented. ‘But only for half an hour, then back home for tea.’

It was March this year, and the first time Amar would be walking back alone.

But home was only five minutes away, and he was a very responsible kid.