He slept in a drawer until he was four months old and then in a crib I built from the offcuts of a staircase.

He was in that shop from the time he could walk.

By six he could sweep a floor properly, which takes longer to teach than people think.

By nine he could sharpen a chisel.

At eleven he squared his first mortise-and-tenon joint without help and I kept it and it is on the shelf above my desk and it is not very good.

We ate a great deal of eggs.