“REALLY?”

‘This wasn’t supposed to happen.’

We stared over the edge of the hill, watching the wavering, whistling line of smoke as Bobby’s Patented Bird Scarer scorched its way into the town below.

In true comic book fashion, there was the crash, the sound of breaking glass and the shout of ‘Oi!’ We commando-crawled into the bushes until the Police had wound in their ‘Do Not Cross This Line’ tape and two guys in donkey jackets from the Council had swept up the debris.

I might have asked him, ‘What particular law of the Universe were you relying on for that not to happen?’ But I was only six at the time and more concerned at the powdered yellow paint, bicarb and vinegar, key components of Bobby’s invention, being traced back to our house on Latimer Street.

This is only one of the many incidents where my brother sought to challenge received wisdom, cause and effect, the basic Laws of Nature. To my more pedestrian mind, I was quite happy to accept