I’m proud that my ancestor served at Trafalgar. But not too proud to sell his stuff

I experienced what the American self-help guru Dr Phil calls a ‘defining moment’ the other day. I’d just taken stock of my life and, frankly, things didn’t look good. The house I’ve bought in Acton — and which I can’t possibly afford — is already worth less than I paid for it. My wife has expressed a desire to have a fourth child. And I’ve recently been ‘let go’ as the Evening Standard’s restaurant critic.

It was time to act. I would no longer be carried along by events — I would shape my own destiny. In the words of Dr Phil, I would move my ‘self-concept away from a world-defined, fictional self towards a self-defined, authentic self’.

I decided to sell the family silver.

OK, that isn’t strictly true. My paternal grandfather, Gibson Young, was an Australian ne’er-do-well and the only silver his forebears possessed was what they were able to steal from the gentry.