By Jamie Drake-Rogers Featuring words by Carla Drake (my grandmother)

I lived in Holland when I was your age. School was very strict, there was no talking allowed with others. The teacher would often get angry and hit us hard on the backs of our heads. This was for things like not having a tidy desk, or talking. The windows were opaque, so we couldn’t look outside, which I hated. We had to learn things off by heart all the time, and we always had lots of homework.

There was no playground at school, just a concrete courtyard so we played tiggy. I played marbles with friends and skipping. We also played diabolo and spinning tops. Some children had scooters and roller skates, or bicycles. I also liked to read, and write stories, and play board games. Sometimes I got to listen to stories on the radio. There was no TV!

Going to the dentist was horrible! There were no injections for pain relief. The dentist would put some clove oil on your tooth and then use a really slow drill which he powered with a foot pedal. The appointments were very long and very painful. But I remember the dentist was a nice man.

Cars were very uncommon. My family didn’t get a car until I was 17. People took the bus or trams or trains. I mostly had to walk a lot. I had to walk half an hour to school in the morning, then back home for lunch, back to school again, then home at the end of the day. Two hours walking a day. I also had an old bike which was way too big, so I had to have wooden blocks on the pedals.

I definitely think your life is fantastic in comparison to how mine was when I was 9! School is so much more interesting and fun. Your family can go places together in a car. You have a fast gear bike. You play some of the same things I did but you also have x-box and computers which are fun. Even the food you get to eat is more interesting! And you get pain relief if you have to go to the dentist.