IT must be a remarkable experience to reach the age of 100.

Take former teacher Richard Clay. Born in Hallow, near Worcester, he was nine when the First World War broke out, and 21 the year of the General Strike.

In fact, he was no

spring chicken when the next lot started in 1939. That's the thing about very old people. It's fascinating to punctuate their lives with significant historical dates.

But I imagine the changes in the world of education provide the starkest contrasts.

When he started his career, the classroom would have been run with military precision, strict discipline being enforced at all times. It remained so until the late 1960s. I still have vivid memories of the various forms of corporal punishment inflicted upon my person during my sojourn at grammar school.

Back then, conditions were probably too harsh. Now, the boot is on the other foot - literally. Many schools are run by teenage thugs backed up by equally loutish parents.

It's a far cry from the days when youngsters were given a caning at school and then received another belting when they got home.

I don't imagine that these ironies have escaped the notice of centenarian Richard Clay.