It was when I was at secondary school and I refused to swim for my school team because it made me feel violently ill. I was given 6 strokes of the cane by the head-teacher and had to write out the school line twenty times every day for 10 days. It is ingrained on my memory, "Few things are more distressing to a well regulated mind than to see a boy who ought to know better disporting himself at improper moments."

Yes, I did have one and I didn’t mind wearing it, but I always tried to make it look as casual as possible.

In my spare time I painted a good deal, played with my 2 brothers and 2 sisters as we were all close in age, and collected butterflies, which I realised later was not a clever thing to have done.

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Jumping into a swimming pool in anger ... and having to be saved (aged 2)

Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree (aged 38!); poems – A.A. Milne's ‘Lines and Squares’

Don't remember being punished until at public school I was made to stand by my bed for x hours for something I may or may not have done. I solved the problem by faking a faint.

Certainly had one. Didn't have particular feelings towards it, though I do remember looking forward to being allowed to wear long trousers instead of short.

Football, mainly, I think.

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Paddling at the seaside with my father. I can still recreate the sensation of happiness and security of his strong arms holding mine and the exhilaration of jumping the waves.

I remember Heidi being read to me. Also my older sisters telling me the Grimms’ and Hans Andersen fairy tales and being pleasantly frightened. When I was about nine or ten I loved Little Women. I wanted to be Jo.

In my first year at secondary school, the whole class was belted with a leather strap for talking when the teacher was out of the room. I had a red weal curling up the inside of my wrist.

There was no uniform at Primary School but there was at the Senior Secondary. I was thrilled when I was first ‘rigged out’ but in the years of my adolescence I spent a lot of time devising ways of making it snappier.

I read. All the time. Greedily. My aunts said I didn’t get enough fresh air and had rings under my eyes from the excess of it. I was actually born with rings under my eyes.

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What is the first thing you can remember?

Getting cross: I had new red wellingtons and wanted to wear them in the pram! In those days pushchairs were less common so toddlers were often pushed around in a pram; there was a seat on the pram too for my older sister.

The first book I remember was called Naughty George and was about a kitten; there was a whole series of books about Blackberry Farm. The illustrations were lovely - I remember coming across the books in French translation years later. When I was at junior school I read Hugh Lofting, anything by Alan Garner, the Narnia books. I hated Arthur Ransome as I couldn't imagine real children having their own boats; felt happier with true fantasy or books about animals. And there was a student teacher when I was 8 who began reading The Hobbit to my class - of course she didn't finish it in the course of her teaching practice - but I nagged my parents to buy me a copy and loved it.

Being smacked for crying when I wasn't even crying! (Did cry afterwards of course)

Both at primary and secondary school. In primary school it was fairly lax. The colours were royal blue and white and most girls wore a royal blue skirt in the winter but I had a grey pinafore dress which I hated. There was also a tie, but that didn't bother me much. I seem to remember being cold a lot as we had school macs rather than warm coats or anoraks; girls weren't allowed to wear trousers - nor did the boys, all in shorts. Even through the winter of 1962-3. In secondary school the winter uniform included a black skirt 'suitable for school' - some of us wore maxi or midi skirts which looked really silly with the regulation tie and pullover or blazer.

As a small child - played with Lego, made clothes for dolls and trolls, read, did a lot of drawing. Lots of family walks at weekends. Summer holidays were always spent at my grandparents' house in the country, and weather permitting we climbed trees, made dens; or if it was raining there was a vast collection of jigsaw puzzles from the 30's - all in tins, no picture to help you - and a load of Giles annuals. Also in the holidays helped feed pigs, collected eggs, and had various chores around the house.

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Lying on the sofa looking at my mother doing the washing up. I may have had a feeding bottle, not sure.

Treasure Island, Enid Blyton - Famous Five (I'm still very cautious about getting trapped by the tide...), Stig of the Dump

Being locked in a tuck chest with the school cobra for wearing a soft collar during 'bullings'. OK, OK, I'll be serious. I cannot remember a single unfair punishment during my entire childhood.

Travelling on public transport in Bradford as a 10 year old wearing a green and bright red stripy blazer did build character, but I can't remember disliking it. When I hit adolescence I can remember avoiding wearing it, but I didn't think about it much.

Read a lot; cycled a great deal; played out with my friends (whole afternoons wandering on waste ground); played in the shed/spaceship; dug caves in riverbanks; built rafts and swallowed the polluted River Aire; played at cops and robbers, war (yes I know...); built Airfix models; played board games; played with Action Man; built dens in bushes; watched TV - especially Saturday afternoon wrestling with my feet up against the fireguard; sledged. Probably a lot more too.

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I don't believe people who say they can remember what happened before about the age of four. Impressions linger, though: I recall sitting on my grandmother's kitchen dresser in Edinburgh and I may only have been two... or was it three?.. or even four? Compton Mackenzie claimed to remember sitting up in his pram and noticing what people were saying. Rhubarb! My first definite memory is precisely on my fourth birthday when the frill around my cake went on fire when a candle fell off the top. Almost as exciting as my brother's attempt a few days later to murder me by saying it would be fun if I put my fingers on the metal bits in a live electric plug.

Rumpelstiltskin was my favourite fairy story. A book called Tiptoes the Mischievous Kitten, given to me for a birthday present (perhaps at the conflagatory fourth birthday party), made me a lifelong reader and lover of cats. Richmal Crompton's William stories were my favourite reading when I was a bit older.

Being told by the head teacher that someone has committed a crime and he was going to keep every one back until someone owned up. No one did. A silly punishment, because logically we should still be standing there. But I can still feel myself going bright red as he accused us - guilt by association perhaps, though I hadn't done it, whatever 'it' was.

Yes, at secondary school we wore black jackets, pinstriped trousers and stiff white collars in winter, blue blazers and straw boaters in summer. I liked the boaters. Now I think school uniforms are neo-fascist and have long arguments with my headmaster brother about them.

Read, keep newts and rats, collect stamps, be unpleasant to my mother, avoid cutting the grass, moan about being bored. Life was very full.

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My first memory is being in a baby frame on someone's back. I hated it so much and can remember screaming and screaming out of protest until I was removed. Why did I hate it? I really can't remember.

Enid Blyton stories, lots of them. I read them almost exclusively for years and always wished I could have an adventure too. And they didn't make me racist or sexist either.

When I was eleven I had to stand in the corner all lesson during Woodwork because I'd forgotten my apron. I'd just started secondary school and was terrified of the (very strict) teacher. I was still avoiding him in the Sixth Form.

At junior school there was no fixed uniform but we had to wear something dark green. This worked pretty well, but you soon met with disapproval if you dared to combine dark green with a brighter colour.

Played with my friends and my dolls, played/argued/fought with my brother, drew pictures, made things out of dough, played 'Two Balls' (juggling against a wall) - our freedom was fairly restricted, living in Inner London.

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Michael Daniel Ambatchew, English Language Officer, The British Council, Ethiopia

What is the first thing you can remember?

Age 3 : Being taken to school the first day by my father. Suddenly realising that he was going to desert me in the hands of this unknown kindergarten teacher. Realising that the important task of going to school performed by my brother and sister may not be such a great thing after all. Bursting into tears!

The ladybird series of Sleeping Beauty, Puss in Boots, etc... Thought it was great how Puss fooled the Ogre into changing into a mouse and then gobbled him up. What a pity we can't get rid of some people in real life like that!

Being suspended for a month together with the whole class from music lessons because we would not blow the whistle on those classmates who smuggled in an illegal harmonica into the classroom and kept blowing it during the lesson while the teacher was playing the piano.

Thank goodness, no.

Played marbles, football, cards, table tennis; reading stories etc.

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The house where I was born and grew up.

My father used to tell us about his experiences at a teacher college as a student when Turkey was going through important reforms in education.

This was a punishment I received from a maths teacher when I was at middle school.

Yes. I hated wearing it just as my peers did.

I used to paint pictures.

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My first memories of childhood consist of mostly happy moments with my family. I had a regular routine which included playing, drawing, listening to music, partaking of regular meals as a family, being given daily baths by my mother, arguing pettily with my siblings, visiting my grandparents for lunch or dinner prior to trips to the playground, or the Luneta Park which was relatively clean, safe, and unpolluted in those days.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach created a strong impact on me. The protagonist in this short novel epitomized in my young mind how important diligence and perserverance in life was. Subsequent to my reading this book, I agreed to my piano teacher's prodding to join piano competitions where I obtained a few medals.

Fortunately, I cannot really recall an unfair punishment growing up. My parents exerted efforts to bring us up in a fair manner except for our family system of "seniority". My parents placed a notable significance on their concept of "seniority" or "giving way to an older person" as a sign of respect. In my mind, you can be older and be wrong. There are quite a number of instances where I am certain of being right. However, being the youngest in the family meant conceding to an older sibling almost all the time. It was pointless to argue because ultimately, I had to concede. Perhaps, this was one of the reasons why I pursued a law degree. Currently, I am quite pleased when they seek my opinion on any matter.

My school uniform was nondescript. It consisted of a white linen blouse with blue piping, two pockets where the school's acronym was inscribed, and a blue skirt to match. I did not like wearing my school uniform because I felt it was shapeless, tacky, and at times, made us look like sales ladies from a particular department store which I decline to name. En route to our respective classrooms after the school's daily flag ceremony rights, a Chinese teacher would stand guard and pull out students from the line who, in her opinion, were not wearing "pristine white" blouses and socks, or for simply failing to wear a camisole underneath. On hindsight several years later, I do not think my uniform was as bad as I thought it was.

Being sickly as a child, my spare time was occupied by non-athletic activities such as reading, playing the piano, and spending hours in the kitchen in my attempt to acquire my mother's culinary expertise.

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It should be the trip we took to move to a new place. I was only 2 or 3. Few people had cars, and there was even no taxis in Taiwan then. We rode on a tricycle, which carried the people and our baggage and other household items.

I like reading. As a child, I liked Chinese mythological stories, such as "A Journey to the West", with all kinds of brave and humorous characters fighting against witches and eventually arriving at the heavenly court to get the Buddhist bibles. Those characters were my heroes in childhood.

I seldom got punished. And I found most punishment I received was quite fair. As a matter of fact, I managed to get away with some misconducts, which I really should been punished for.

Yes, we did. I felt quite happy to wear it, partly because mine was considered a good school in the community, and partly because we could not afford to buy more expensive clothes.

Reading, playing with kids in the neighbourhood.

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I remember jumping into deep water with other kids although I could not swim at all. Then catching river lobsters and cooking and eating them. Now they are very rare and protected by law.

I admired my grandmother who trained my memory by reading short stories from the Bible or her own stories and then I had to retell them to her. She was a very clever woman who knew a lot of herbs we collected together, could help other people and animals with minor injuries or diseases and as a midwife she helped to bring a lot of children (including me) to this world (nearly half a century ago - a discrete note).

If there was any punishment, it was not any physical one because I do not remember any. It was me who tortured my mum by refusing meals when I disliked something or wanted to get something.

No, we did not have any uniform but I would like to wear one.

To the age of seven I played a lot with other kids from neighbourhood. But I also liked to do some manual jobs as embroidering, knitting or other techniques before I started to go to school without having been taught it by anybody. I have an excellent observing talent for manual jobs. When I was seven my father died and I became an adult. I had to help my mum with three younger brothers and sisters. I had less time for entertainment and more duties.

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I remember some strong visual images, like sitting in the kitchen with my grandmother desperately trying to feed me (some horrible porridge stuff) and praying for my parents to come back home quickly to save me.

Some horror stories (my father's mother specialised in those) like the one about people waking in their graves after death.

I remember my father smacking me and my brothers for something I didn't do - trying to force one of us to admit we've taken something from their closet.

I had a kind of school apron (black) with white collars- as far as I can remember I didn't mind wearing it.

I read books, went for walks with my father, spent a lot of time with my friends at ballet school, scouting organisation, etc.

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The first thing I can remember is my family (when I was 3 years old).

The stories about the important persons made the biggest impression to me.

I was punished by my family to stay at home for a week.

Yes, I had a school uniform, but I didn't like it at all.

I used to play with my friends.

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Mother, holding and rocking me in her arms when I was sick. My nut-tree: up there I was day-dreaming, I felt closer to the sky and the whole world was mine.

Cinderella, Snow-White: I gradually learnt that you are never given a wish without the means of making it true. They inspired me in writing the stories of Trainerella, about the adventures of a teacher-trainer in the ELT world. A Romanian story about a land of permanent youth, where no one grew old or died. But there was a spring with clear tempting water which mortals had to avoid drinking because they got homesick. It is a very sad story: the prince who had searched for that place to keep away from death, drinks from that spring and the fairies were helpless and could not do anything to prevent him from going back home. But in the meantime hundreds of years had passed and on his way back he is growing older and older...

I was in primary school and the teacher created an awful atmosphere of competition. It was between a boy and myself: she was lenient with the boys' mistakes and tough with mine. Whenever she gave us different marks for the same mistake, that was punishment for me. Mother told me to learn as well as I could so that I should not make mistakes any more and make the teacher give me good marks, and I did so.

Yes, I wore them for twelve years. I disliked them, because I could do very little to make them look nice on me or to feel comfortable. But there are strange feelings that come again which are associated to the image of my mother, to being young, carefree and knowing that somebody else is in control and responsible for your life... and that fragrance of the fresh cleaned uniform I enjoyed every Monday morning...

I played or read stories. I had my favourite toy: a teddy bear which I carried with me everywhere; I don't have it anymore but he is still there in my thoughts. I liked to play school with my toys - asked questions, answered for them and kept a roll. I tried to be impartial. I played on my own because my parents did not want me to mix up with other children and learn bad things. So I created a world of my own, in my mind and by reading stories under the nut-tree. No wonder I am a teacher now.

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Probably the sea. My parents used to take me to the beach when I was quite small. I loved it there.

I loved fairy tales like every child but probably the biggest single impression on me was left by the Greek myths. I knew the names of all the gods, goddesses and heroes, like others know the names of sports stars.

I don't really remember. I hated it though, when my parents tried to limited my reading because I was short-sighted. I used to hide and read with a torch under the blanket.

Yes, all school children in Bulgaria used to wear an ugly uniform - navy dress with white collar for girls, white shirt and navy/black pants for boys. They were all of regimented length, cut and look. We all tried to personalize them somehow. I remember I used to wear a crocheted collar my grandma had made for me.

I used to read a lot, I collected many things (stamps, coins, etc). I loved receiving letters and had many pen friends.

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It's the tiny front garden where I was never allowed to play because the landlady wouldn't have her flowers picked by "this naughty child". My parents didn't like her and neither did she like us, but rooms to rent were hard to find in those days so we had to put up with her. Yet, I remember very clearly that when reading stories about witches they somehow always used to have her face.

They were stories about princes and princesses and dragons and there always was a happy end. However the most important thing about them was that they all came from a very old book of fairy tales that belonged to my grandmother. The pages smelled of old print and the pictures had a kind of charm though they were far from beautiful. I still have the book and it now belongs to my daughter, who is 14. She intends to pass it on to her child when it comes of reading age.

I will never forget the years of spanking experience the nuns who ran my school had. They were real experts and the effects of their beatings would never be visible, so the parents could not complain to the authorities. At home I never used to be spanked and all the matters were discussed with me.

I did. At first I was very proud to have it but later on I didn't really care. Things changed when I was a bit older when I had to wear a hideous one - it was greyish green and never looked clean. Also, as I attended school in a communist country, the uniform made spying on students easier and we all wanted to be free to do what we wanted. I simply hated wearing it.

When I was a little girl I would play with my two favourite dolls and teddy-bear. We pretended to be in hospitalwhere I was the doctor and my toys were patients. The poor things got lots of injections and in order to better disinfect their bodies I used my mother's bright red lipstick. My teddybear is still red!

Later on I would do a lot of reading, but that started in grade two of primary school. The books dealt with two topics only: ancient Egypt and Rome. At that time I was a real expert at history.

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Windy winter day. I am staying by the window in my aunt’s house and staring at the smoke that comes out of the chimneys across the street. My aunt has told me that she'll come back home when the smoke starts coming out in a straight line.

A fairy tale that tells about a man who found himself on 'another' earth (in another world). On his way back he was riding on two eagles and feeding them with his own flesh so that they could take him back.

I was wearing my only Sunday best clothes when I tripped and fell in a puddle. My mother beat me.

In my first years in school I didn't have one, but I wanted to, later I had a uniform, but I didn't want it.

I used to fantasize that I'm both a motorbike and a rider. I was setting speed records.

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At 3 returning from a holiday in India with my grandma and a head shaved bald because of the lice contracted in India!!!!!

My grandma's story that if one sees a really shiny star - the one that gleams the most that is the much loved child who had died in his youth. That my mother could do everything, run the house, manage a retail business, produce (knit) the items for the store, handle 4 of us, stay up all night and sew both our party dresses and even our pyjamas, and still read books, go to the movies and community functions. My mother has made the biggest impression on me.

We had to return home by 7.30. We went out with a friend's elder brother in his car, enjoyed ourselves so much that we came home after the 7.30 curfew and my father was livid and we hid under the bed so that we would not be beaten. He should have realised that we had so enjoyed ourselves that time had flown.

Yes, I enjoyed it -the great equalizer.

Read all the Readers digest, played badminton and listened to the radio. (songs, news, anything)

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I can remember a very vivid nightmare I had after my mother read the usual evening fairy tale. I dreamt about huge birds and animals walking in my bedroom.

A book of Bulgarian fairy tales with folklore motifs about supernatural characters (werewolves, vampires, wood-nymphs). It was also richly illustrated, another Bulgarian book with two children comic characters and their adventures. There is also a book of Indian stories very well illustrated.

I can't remember such a punishment. I remember, however, that all punishments (well, nearly all) seemed unfair to me. Having a two year old daughter now I see that one cannot go without some punishments if s/he wants to raise a well-behaved child.

Yes, an ugly dark blue dress with a white collar. I am not against uniforms but I think they should be comfortable and modern, so that even if pupils are not fond of them, they could gradually grow on them and see them as an emblem of a fraternity of their own.

I was an avid reader of all kinds of books and also a TV addict (this sounds funny of course as we only had 2 official TV channels back in the socialist times). In neither of these was there a system of doing it, nor could my mother spare the time to direct me. I am very grateful to her, nevertheless, for having bought a lot on books, for introducing me to the first novel at the age of 10 and for letting me watch films in the evening (8.30-9.30 p.m.). She let me watch the TV version of Nana for example when I was 10-11 years old, notwithstanding some naked scenes. I remember these because my cousin who is a year younger was forbidden to watch it by her parents, who both were University graduates and thought very highly of their intellectual and decision-making abilities. I agree completely with my mother's judgement as serious literature/films should be watched read/watched when the child is ready for it. Moreover children should be encouraged to perceive the world as it is.

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The harbour scene when one of my sisters came back from her college in England.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I was mortally afraid of his hump.

No answer.

My first school uniform in kindergarten was a white apron. I hated it. There were two types, one sensible, offering plenty of cover, the other not so useful but very pretty. My family chose the former and it made me feel horrible. The next uniform was almost identical in primary and secondary school. I disliked the pleated skirt because I was too thin at the back and the skirt always drooped on me. Later on I changed it to a tight fitting one and didn't mind wearing it.

Go to the cinema, listen to music, read comics and magazines, played with dolls and/or racing cars. We spent a lot of time at the beach or along the promenade. Mostly however my spare time was spent interacting with my brothers and sisters, we were a large family and often entertained ourselves.

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When I was three years old, two unforgettable events happened to me: The first was when I was in Tangiers on holiday with my parents and I got lost. The second (in the same year) was my circumcision.

My grandmother used to tell me stories about the ghoul (Amti lghoula), a devilish woman who would eat children who misbehaved. Also, the story of Hdiddan Lahrami, a very cunning boy who would play tricks on people regardless of their age, and whom the king would consult whenever he needed help. Finally Seif Do Yazan/ the sword of Do Yazan, a legendary warrior capable of killing many men at the same time with a mere blow or sword strike.

When my elder brother broke a precious vase and told my parents that it was me. I could not defend myself, for if I tried, my elder brother would beat me. At least, that's what I thought.

I had to wear a blue apron, which I used to keep in my schoolbag until I reached my school. Then I would put it on.

I used to play games with other boys of my age. Sometimes, in summer - when my parents were not on holiday- I was forced to go to a Koranic school, which I hated.

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Boarding a plane. I was between 2 and 5 years old and was about to fly with my sister and grandma from Belgrade to Sarajevo to see my newly-born cousin. I was very excited. Hence my love for planes to these days.

The Sleeping Beauty because I was given a part in it when I was 3. My cousin was Flora, my elder sister was Fauna, and I was Merryweather and had to behave accordingly. When I was four, my mother took me to the cinema to see 'Bambi'. I started crying when Bambi's mother died and didn't stop till the end of the film.

When my father spanked my sister and me because the boat engine had broken down. He was sure we had done something. I thought it was a great injustice and refused to talk to him for several days. I was about 10.

My primary-school uniform was navy blue with a white lace collar and I didn't mind wearing it, but I hated my secondary-school uniform which was black and I felt like a nun. I would carry it in a bag and put it on only when I reached the school building.

In pre-school days and later I played with my sister, my cousins and the kids from the neighbourhood. I had a doll’s house and a lot of dolls. When I started school I didn't have much spare time because I played the violin, which I hated from the bottom of my heart. After two years I stopped playing and attended ballet school every afternoon. At twelve I started playing tennis and that's what I still do in my spare time.

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When I was in kindergarten. I took a bus to and from the kindergarten. One day, at the bus stop, I was absorbed in a book and missed my bus. I didn’t know what to do. I cried and cried. I didn’t know that there were other buses which go to my house.

Stories of dead people coming back once a year in summer.

I have never been treated unfairly. I deserve all the punishment I have received so far.

Yes. I had a school uniform in junior and senior high. At that time, I took school uniforms as a students’ ‘must’ and I had no question about it.

Playing soft ball, watching TV, reading.

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My Mum dressing me up in a summer dress full of frills.

Two types of bed time stories: My Granny telling me about ghosts and cemeteries, and my Dad summarizing librettos of great operas and singing.

When I wasn't allowed to go to the cinema to see a film with Brigitte Bardot.

Yes, I had one and I liked it.

In my spare time – I played cowboys and Indians. (I was a chief of an Apache tribe) I loved to cut out figures from magazines

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