P A I N T E R
I had an A for art

   I was in the choir and got taken out: you are the growler. Yes, I was never particularly musical, and the only instrument I learnt was the mouth organ. But I can still remember, when I was already at the Yavneh, it was compulsory to learn an instrument, the violin or the piano. I had absolutely no talent at all, I just couldn’t do it. But I was always, let’s say, a bit artistically gifted. I had an A for art. And I was one of Meidner’s pupils, his only private pupil. Yes, (Ludwig) Meidner was a teacher at the Yavneh, but he was a real painter. That helped his finances a bit. I told my parents that I didn’t want to learn to play an instrument, but could I have lessons with Mr Meidner? I went to see him once a week, I think. My father had a special portfolio made, a very large one, for the drawings, for the paper. He came to England later on, too. I never saw him again.
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