In the early nineteen fifties early years schooling in Twiverton won national renown for its expertise in the mathematics of 'positive negatives'. The moment a teacher 'found' that something had 'gone' an inquisitorial Herod-like search would be ordered which would sweep through the crevices of every possible loot-filled hiding-place.
The guile of Evil Coin Stealers (circa. 1952) was formidable and they developed a sixth-sense of when a Herod-like search for their ill-gotten coin-minted gains was imminent. In a flash they would artfully slip a stolen coin into the unsuspecting pocket of some naive fellow member of their class. And no pockets were as unsuspectingly naive as those which belonged to 'Tubby' Lard of Woodhedge Road.
Prisoners in Russia (circa.1952)who were planning to escape from the socialist paradise that was the Gulag would endeavour to take a "cow" with them. A "cow" was the name they gave to some trusting innocent who they invited to accompany them on their bid for freedom. What was smart about having a "cow" in the wastes of Siberia was that - at least during the first weeks of the journey - it provided a guarantee against starvation. In the event of the escaping prisoners running out of food they could always eat their "cow."
'Tubby' Lard (who resided in a prefab with a famously well-stocked larder) fitted the "cow" mode to a cue. In a sense 'Tubby' was wasted in Twiverton. He was tailor-made for the wastes of Siberia. So when a coin at the village school was identified as having gone 'positive negative' and was 'found' to have 'gone' missing the inevitable was bound to happen. Within minutes of a Herod-like search being launched the coin was discovered in one of 'Tubby' Lard's bewildered deep-layered side-pockets. Quickly intimidated into making a false confession he was made to spend the rest of the afternoon standing in silence and staring at the blank brown expanse of the classroom wall. Staring at this blank brown expanse was the school's way of making pupils confess their sins. This caused great confusion for 'Tubby' as - being 'Tubby' - he was someone wwho had no sins to confess. His one great consolation was that no one tried to eat him.
The old man has always said that "Experience is a hard school." The young resident of prefab number twelve was in a 'wiser to the ways of the world' state of mind when, a few days later, the pupils of the school were given the sad news that King George VI had died. As 'Tubby' Lard stood to attention in the big school hall the identity of the Evil Coin Stealer who had placed the coin in his bewildered pocket became crystal clear. He remembered the warning words of William Blake, and they would stay with him for years to come:

"When a sinister person means to be your enemy, they always start by trying to become your friend."