When Daniel was 9, the family would move to Hoylake, on the west coast of the Wirrel, looking out over Liverpool Bay. Here, having failed his 11-Plus, he was sent to a tough secondary modern. At Hilbre High School at nearby West Kirby (other former pupils include cyclist Chris Boardman and pop stars The Coral and Orchestral Manoevres In The Dark) he played rugby (he also played for Hoylake Rugby Club), supported the then near-invincible Liverpool FC and joined in with the school's plays, taking the lead in Oliver, Romeo And Juliet and Cinderella. Academically, however, he was not a good student. This is not to say he was disinterested as he reacted well when his mother (who'd get remarried to the artist Max Blond) fed his imagination with literature. Indeed, having received Ted Hughes' Crow on his 10th birthday, he would even sneak into a local girls' grammar school to hear
