My father died when I was nine.
I’m an only child. My mother and I were very poor for a time. She had a brother, who lived in (36) His name was John. Uncle John came to London several times to see us. He was very (37) of me and took me for walks in Hyde Park. But Australia is a long way away and we didn’t see very much of him.
I went to Art School when I was (38) , but what I really wanted to study was architecture. However, it is a difficult (39) to get into, and requires long training. I worked for a time as a (40) illustrator but didn’t make very much money from it. I even did office work for a time. When I got up to go to work in the mornings, I felt as if I were going to (41) That is how much I (42) it.
One day, nine years ago, when I was twenty two, I got a letter from a (43) in Australia. (44) and that he had some other important news for me. He refused to say what it was until he came to London personally to see me. We met in a hotel in London a few weeks later. The news was that Uncle John had made quite a lot of money in Australia and had left it all to me. (45) . I felt like jumping up and down for joy. But I didn’t of course. (46) . I used the rest to study architecture and then to start my own business.