Time for a bevvy to toast heroic Levy

School is a brutal start to life, isn't it? Many a young soul is broken in its school days, where strengths and weaknesses are constantly tested inside and outside the classroom. When you reach adulthood, it is easy to forget what a merciless environment a school can be.

I got a reminder the other morning when I walked past a school field and saw the last few stragglers finishing a race round the track. I don't know how many laps they all had to do, but 95 percent of the competitors had completed the task, chatting merrily away in a noisy hub beside the finish line. The other five percent still had a long way to go. They were obese and walking, too tired to even trot, glum-faced and staring at the grass.

I think my heart literally bled for these lads. It ruined my day as I wondered what was going through the minds of these tortured backmarkers. It was as if they didn't even want to reach the finish line – because the school bullies were probably waiting there with barbed comments.