The Intrigue - Sometime around 1976, our Dad began to act in a most unusual manner.  Dad was never one for conformity but even we, his family, were surprised by his actions.  He would disappear for long periods of time and would re-appear hours later with a satisfied grin on his face and laughter playing around his lips.  We knew where he was, of course, but figuring out what he was doing there wasn't so easy.   We knew Dad was in his bedroom, that no-one should disturb him and that a by-product of whatever he was doing was a painfully slow, rhythmic banging sound that seemed to penetrate our brains and consciences wherever we were in the house

Then Dad announced he was writing a book the old fashioned way: on a mechanical typewriter !!  

School ? What school ? -  Many who knew him may have been surprised by the announcement that he was writing a book.  Dad, you see, was a man who by his own admission considered formal education an intrusion on his lifestyle.  Despite the interference of the second world war with his education, Dad easily passed grammar school entrance exams then, being Dad, realised this would result in him being apart from his friends and promptly set about restructuring his education!  It is probably fair just to say that Dad started full-time adult employment pretty early in life.  Out in the real world - But Dad had an education second to none once he got into the adult world.  He was at various times, a back-projectionist with Gainsborough Film Studios (we have a signed recommendation from a young J.Arthur Rank), a milkman, a commended National serviceman and a host of other things, most of which he probably forgot to tell us about.  But mostly, Dad would like to be remembered for being a lorry driver and removal man for a family firm in Watford, Herts.  He loved his work and gained a never-ending supply of comical memories, provided by characters he met as he worked.

The rip off ?  - He tried hard to get his work published - as a book, a play and as a one-off television "short". On one occasion a very similar one off TV play  appeared - and the credits attributed it to a well known writer and comedian.   It just so happened to be the same one who had rejected Dad's work a year earlier.  Dad, being Dad, took it with a shrug of resignation.  He wasn't a man to get upset about such things.  In 1999, after leading a very fit life, suddenly a long illness loomed and the writing stopped. He passed away 2 years later without getting to see his work published.  We hope he's watching now.