Martyn Turner writes: I remember as a small child my parents were kind enough to answer almost all the questions I was bold enough to ask as a seven-year-old. They explained Father Christmas ("So that's why the rich kids get better presents than the poor kids?"). They explained religion ("You mean everyone thinks their religion is right and everyone else's is wrong?"). They explained nationalism ("You mean everyone thinks their country is great and everyone else's is rubbish?") and they explained monarchy ("You mean some idiot gets all that stuff just because of his or her parents?"). I became, in order, leaving out Santa, an atheist, an internationalist and a republican. But that is with a small "r". God forbid, as we atheists say, I should ever become a Republican with a big "R", Irish style. Can't stand totalitarianism, either monarchical or republican.
Martyn Turner's 2016 calendar can be downloaded at tinyurl.com/pxzmu9t