gavin woods (born 1948 in durban, south africa) grew up and was educated in the small kwazulu town of estcourt at the foot of the drakensberg. he was the second of an eight children family. he contracted polio in his year of birth and has lived a life seriously affected by resultant physical afflictions. he first learnt to walk with the help of leg-irons when he was six years old and has undergone more that fifty surgical procedures over his life. this has meant numerous periods of hospitalisation over the years two of these being in excess of twelve months. this in turn caused a difficult primary and secondary education career with many months of abstention from school.