This, the third part of the trilogy (a factual historical novel like For God, England and Ethel and Leaning On a Lamp-Post, these books  being the first two parts of the family saga that spans a period of more than one hundred years), will be an autobiography with a difference. Instead of being written exclusively in my own words, the basis for the story will be a selection of extracts taken from letters written to me since I was a small boy, from a variety of sources - friends, relatives, business associates et al - linked with my present-day recollections of the events mentioned in the letters. If all goes according to plan, the result should be entertaining as well as informative.

 

In this age of social media, there is immense pressure to engage in the ultimate 'one-upmanship' by uploading almost everything you see, think or do, for all to see. This book demonstrates the good old-fashioned 'one-on-one' values where each interaction is tailored to suit the individual.

 

My aim in writing this book is twofold - to complete the story that started with Fred and Ethel back in 1910 and also to produce an unusual but entertaining autobiography, even though in some instances the entertainment may be at my own expense.

 

If you look carefully at Page 1 of the UK Daily Telegraph for Thursday 9th April 1959 (the first draft of the cover image for the book), you will see evidence of an early correspondence between myself and one of my sisters.

 

"Will you do the same for me as you did for Sharon, for threepence?" - to which I replied: "I 'll do it [for] free."

 

Before you jump to any conclusions as to what I was being asked to do, I should explain that I had brushed Sharon's hair one night before we went to bed and my other sister wanted me to do the same for her. The fact that I was willing to repeat this act for free when I had been offered the princely sum of 'thruppence' does at least say something positive about my character!

 

Due to the continued high volume of specific enquiries generated from my website and other ongoing projects, I have placed this book on hold for the foreseeable future.