I was probably a bit of a dunce during my schooldays but I loved playing rugby at boarding school in England and I look back on those times with immense nostalgia. I'd also say, based on my own experiences, that whatever failures you have in life, if you put your mind to it, something will come good, although sometimes you do have to persevere.
I was born left-handed and forced to write with my right one because that's what happened in the 1960s. Learning Chinese was a struggle but having to use my right hand made it more so. If I wasn't doing it properly or doing it well enough, I'd be punished and made to wear a paper ear.
I think growing up in a very Anglicised Chinese family had something to do with my not excelling at Chinese. I still can't read Chinese and I only speak colloquial Chinese.
I first went to St Paul's Coeducational College primary school but it didn't really work out. My father, who was a judge, would despair at the trouble I had with Chinese and even tried to teach me at home.
The decision was taken to send me to Kennedy Road Junior where, academically, I turned out to be fine. There I learned about the Norman invasion of Britain by William the Conqueror in 1066 and my favourite pastime was to draw Spitfires.
At the age of 11 I was sent away to school in Norfolk, England. I found the whole experience a revelation and had some of the best times of my life there.
I was put in a huge dormitory with a bed by the window from where I could see this huge full moon. The following morning the housemaster gave me breakfast and the rest of the day I had to myself.