Anthony Grayling on his childhood and running away from school

In this wonderful anecdote, the academic and writer A.C. Grayling regales us with his ill-fated attempt to runaway from his Rodhesian boarding school. At 13 years old he was cheeky, distracted, untidy and frequently breached all the ‘awfully stupid’ rules the school had. Consequently he was often in trouble, and this meant caning. In fact, Grayling tells us with some pride, he was the record holder for the most canings in the schools history. After one especially bloody beating, however, our young hero decided enough was enough, and conspired to head back to his mother and father in Zambia - 2,000 miles north. With a bottle of water, a packet of biscuits and the princely sum of two shillings and six pence donated by loyal dorm mates, he set of into the night and... Well, let's not spoil the ending. Needless to say, its filled with menacing prefects and drunken school masters with Dickensian names like Montgomery Wooley and Bugs Huggins. With his abundant wit and eloquence, Grayling tells a story that has all the hallmarks of a Just William escapade.