FEBRUARY 1975: She is new to our school and very beautiful. I start writing poems and from time to time I give them to her.

MARCH 1975: My friends are Europeans, Indians and Africans who all think of themselves as Mozambicans – a nationality which does not exist at this time. "Make love not war" makes our youth easier in times of the Cold War in Africa. We try various drugs and dance to Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and the Rolling Stones.

MAY 1975: At my high school graduation I find the festivities and speeches unnecessary, silly and irritating. I am glad to put theory behind me at last and to be able to work practically as I prepare to become a medical technician.

JUNE 1975: My friend Edith takes me to the Zurich Opera House for the first time: 'Swan Lake' with Natalja Makarova – but what impresses me most is the beautiful theatre with all the gold, the lights and the chandelier.

OCTOBER 1975: My mother cries and says: "Each of us can pack a suitcase with 25 kilos, everything else we have to leave behind. I’d rather go to Brazil with you than lose another child in Mozambique." – "Are we refugees now, mother?" – "Yes, but we’re alive."

NOVEMBER 1975: First encounter with John Curry, known as the "Nureyev of the Ice" after he wins the British championship yet again in Richmond. Soon afterwards he becomes European, World and Olympic champion for the first time.