I stopped off in Sainsbury’s in the centre of York this afternoon, after I had picked up Little Nutter. We needed some cat food.

He knows the drill in supermarkets: if he is good then Daddy says, “Choose” and he leads me around looking for his treat. Today we were followed by a gang of the kids I teach, kids who were thrilled to see that I was not really the ruthless, vindictive tyrant I pretend to be in school.

Then Little Nutter chose his treat: a cheap loaf of plain bread and a small bottle of water. The kids I teach stood in slack-jawed amazement and Little Nutter jumped up & down and clapped his hands with excitement while I paid for these delicacies and handed them to him.

That, I think, is an away win for the Genghis Khan of the Classroom.