I bought "The Unforgiving Minute" virtually as soon as it hit the shops, as a wide-eyed schoolboy. A mate and I pored over it at the time, and I have just about worn it out since. Another school friend is the nephew of the late John Hough, who is pictured sitting in the 17 Cooper-Maserati which killed him at Lowood (Bill Tuckey dedicated a couple of lines to the incident, and back in the school days, the car was still under one of the family houses).