An adrenalin hero – just don’t tell any kids
What a relief to learn of the safe return of 15year-old schoolboy Arthur Heeler-Frood, who famously (infamously…) left home 10 weeks ago because he was “bored of his life”.
The A* pupil at Colyton Grammar School in Devon had been studying George Orwell’s classic Down and Out in Paris and London when he decided to do his disappearing act.
He left a note for his parents advising them not to look for him and reassuring them he would come back in a year.
His early bath (literally, as he was described as “grubby and rather smelly”) was thanks to a member of the public who spotted him on a train and blew the whistle.
Now he’s back and has apologised nicely for causing such distress to his family and trouble for the police, would it be so terribly hypocritical of me to rather admire his buccaneering spirit – even though I would absolutely go to pieces if either of my children did the same? In my defence, I’ve been so horribly gripped by The Missing and its child abduction storyline, I’m thinking of having my offspring secretly microchipped with the mechanism that locks the wheels of supermarket trolleys after 30 yards.
But truthfully, I have a sneaking admiration for young Arthur’s resolve and his resilience. Apparently, he slept rough while exploring London, Birmingham and Manchester on foot.
In a world where youngsters aged from five to 15 are glued to screens for five and a half hours a day, it’s hard not to commend a teenager who not only reads classic literature, but is so inspired as to give his parents the fright of their lives in the name of adventure.
I do hope he goes on to pen his own memoir, vividly conjuring up the thrill of fending for himself and the challenges of going off-grid. I’m sure it would make for a riveting yarn – not that my children will ever be allowed to read it.