Mountains, Laughter, And A Nice Cup Of Ty-phoo Tea.

Tricia and my extremely handsome son George are on the train. I have just dropped them off at the station. They are in for a seven or eight hour journey, as they head for Wales. George is going to climb Snowdon. When I say climb, what I mean is walk up it. I haven't been up it myself but I believe it is a well trodden path. Of course when he gets back home, he will have become quite the intrepid explorer, and the climb will be described as the most difficult and arduous thing that anyone has ever done in the history of mankind. I have no idea where he gets it from this tendency to exaggeration. Did I ever tell you about my trek to the summit of Everest, barefoot and wearing nothing but shorts and a T-shirt? Boy, that was some morning.

Yesterday when Sadie the German Shepherd took me for a walk, I got to thinking about my book. I have decided to write more about my innermost feelings on a certain episode from my childhood. It will add a few thousand more words. But I think it is necessary. In the book whenever anything has been too difficult to write about, I have adopted a third person technique, in which I disappear and become 'The Boy'. I leave it to the reader to decide if  'The Boy' is me. I believe it has given the book an extra interest.

Last night as I was trying to add a bit of structure to the book, I suddenly realised that what I have actually written is a series of vignettes about my childhood. To be honest I really do not think there is much structuring to be done. The way it reads is the way my thoughts developed as I wrote. I might leave it like that. The way it happened. It seems natural to me.

Thank you all so much for your encouragement. It means a lot to me. I hope the book measures up to expectations, and I hope you realise that some parts are very dark. So dark in fact that the humour may seem inappropriate at times. But laughter is how I have dealt with things all through my life. It has served me well. It has helped my survival. This may seem an odd statement to those who know me to be a miserable old git.

When I had finished the book and had printed it out yesterday morning, I made myself a cup of tea. Do you know that feeling when you are really ready for a cuppa? Well it was one of those moments. When I sat down to drink, it was at just the right temperature, and I drank in long draughts. It was wonderful. The best cup of tea I have ever had. My Mum introduced me to that particular brand of tea when I went to live with her in Scotland. Ty-phoo tea. Lovely. It really hits the spot.