To Jack for being such a wonderful son. I am so proud of you. James for being the loveliest little fellow anybody could wish to know. Jo, whom I love so much, for accepting me and my mad ideas and for your love. Ray for being someone I admire so highly and Rita as well. Olivia and Casey for being the prettiest girls, bar none, and Stan for being a great dad to them. And also to my newly found friend Mary Patel.
Sylvia for actually wanting a copy of my crazy ramblings and the first person in the whole world (and probably the last) to ask for my autograph.
A big thanks to all the people at Packt who made this a better book than I could ever have done on my own. A big thanks to the technical reviewers, Tomer Grassiany in New York and Ardian Yuli Setyanto, for pointing out improvements and blunders.
Also worth a mention: Higgsy, John (eboy) Barton, and Peter EggbuttNoBacon for being my friends. David Swinnerton for being a friend, doing my math homework and completing Bounty Bob Strikes Back. A long overdue thanks to the Ebbutt family for putting up with me and letting me in their house so often, especially when mine was empty. And to Chris, I sincerely apologize about the loft, bucket, shower thing—it was Pete’s idea!
And mostly to those whose memory has inspired me all my life, especially this last year, who will sadly never read the next sentence. To Valerie and Ann, I dedicate this book.