'Four Poplars' is about Clifford Davies' childhood when he was brought up in the village of Wroxham in the Norfolk Broads in the early years of the last century, the youngest child of the village schoolmaster. He enjoyed a childhood of extraordinary happiness and security. There was boating and swimming in the River Bure, which still ran crystal clear (the Broads had not yet become a holiday mecca). There were summer picnics on the river, messing about in (and with) boats and games of pirates and explorers. At home there was a great deal of music, singing and amateur dramatics. But life was...