There is some doubt as to whether Cousin Jack was actually my cousin, or at best perhaps one several times removed and sometimes I thought not removed far enough. There is no doubt however that my cousin Jack, a few years younger than I, was a tearaway. A real larrikin, and especially a gambler. With his own money when he had any and not averse to using somebody (anybody) else’s when he was broke. It was he claimed his way of hitting at established society.

This did not bother my parents who rather revelled in his little misdemeanours; his way of cocking a snoot at the establishment, although they sometimes got a bit exasperated when he went too far. Like the occasion he set up as a bookmaker at the dog track. You must understand that I am talking about the late1940’s or early 50’s soon after the war, when we were still living in England and it was still possible to go to an unlicensed track and make a book. He even persuaded my usually sceptical mother that there was easy money to be made and she helped bankroll him. Of course he lost the lot, was chased by angry punters and mother had to go to the police station and bail him out.

This seemed to put him off gambling and his little war with conventional society took another direction; he turned to politics. To Left wing politics but not to the Communist party which at that time in the glow of defeating Hitler was relatively respectable. That wasn’t Left enough for Jack. He joined or as I sometimes suspected, formed a far-Left Trotskyist party that claimed only Albania was pursuing a real socialist policy. With it and what really upset my parents went a violent attack on religion. Mother although not orthodox was very Jewish. Jack would come round selling his weekly newspaper, the Socialist something or other, which always seemed to feature an article fulminating against the power of organised religion, attacking the bible as myth or deriding the power of prayer and even scorning the very idea of God.

Then one day he came to me for advice. " I want to get educated," he said "As you know the war buggered up my schooling but I gather there are facilities available for Mature students."

I worked in the Local Authority Education Department and was able to tell him that there were several residential colleges catering for men and women like him who through no fault of there own had their education interrupted. An interest in politics "however bizarre " I said, "would be an advantage. Also" I added, "they tend to be secular." If accepted he could apply for a grant from his local Council.

So Cousin Jack duly applied and was accepted to an adult education college in Wales. I wondered if it was a case of "If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em" but it seemed I was wrong. In the college he pushed his ultra left ideology while managing to gain a place in one of the new universities that were springing up. Then I heard he had obtained a good degree, appropriately in political science and had his thesis published. It was I recall based on the much-quoted aphorism of Karl Marx that `religion is the opium’ of the people. By this time I had immigrated to Melbourne and we had lost touch. Then I heard from home that Jack was married and was now on the faculty of an Australian university, I won’t say which one and that his wife was Elizabeth, a girl I knew from way back.

By this time I had retired and wrote belatedly congratulating him on his marriage and his appointment. I suggested that if it were convenient I would like to fly up for a few days. I received a reply from Elizabeth.