In our new series, Why I Quit, writers, activists and celebrities talk about something they have swept from their lives, for the better – or worse
I blame the White Rabbit: “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” Pocket watch in hand, glasses perched on nose, the furry figure’s anxiety reinforced the authority figures in my daily life – parents, teachers – whose control over my tender years convinced me that being late was a crime, a sin, a failing, a fault. The one sure way that a child could incur the wrath of adults. And it could have unpleasant consequences, too: a detention or an outing cancelled. So “hurry, hurry” has always been the mantra driving my way of life, making sure I didn’t miss the train, the curtain-up, the opening speech – life itself.
