Only child, who, it seemed, whenever I got to make friends, we moved. By the time I was 11, we had lived in 4 different towns.

Sometimes, the solitary life looking in at others gives perspective - you see others doing stupid, and think - well, there's something I won't be doing.

You also get to watch both sides without being involved - being dispassionate about tactics, and spotting precursor acts and emotions - being able to predict outcomes... because most folk are formulaic in their approach... if it works, it gets repeated.

You also get a lot of time to think about things.

Being on the periphery, an outsider does have some advantages.