Gershon Ben Keren

I've only ever met one person with a "genuine" wooden leg, and no they weren't a pirate. It was somebody who had been the target of a contract killing that they'd thwarted/stopped. In the process of fighting for their life a shotgun, their attacker was using, had ripped into their lower right leg requiring it to be amputated below the knee. Rather than using a medical prosthetic leg, they'd had a friend make a wooden one that they proudly wore - sometimes with cut-off jeans - as a badge of honor.

Part of my UK upbringing took place in the English countryside, where fox hunting was a regular occurrence. For those who are unaware of these “events”, the largest single pack hunt — The Duke of Beaufort’s Hunt — sees around 50–150 riders, with a pack of 30–50 hounds hunt a single fox. The riders dress up in red jackets etc., and along with the dogs run the fox down until it is too exhausted to continue. Until the Hunting Act of 2004, the fox rarely escaped as the odds were so stacked against it.

It may be because I’m British that I’m very interested in medieval history. Perhaps because school trips often involved going to various castles – “if you want to know what the weakest part of a castle is, it’s the gift shop”, as Bill Bailey put it. I think to small children, castles are representative of safe spaces i.e., once you are behind the walls, the gates shut, the portcullis down, and the drawbridge lifted, you feel safe etc.