No Trees Down Our Street (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781544230566)

This is an autobiographical account of childhood in the north-east of England in one particular street during the momentous years of the 1940's. Through the eyes of the author we see life in Christopher Street, Sunderland during the war years and after, and become intimately involved in the daily lives of the inhabitants. We see the horror of war followed by the joyous celebrations on VE Day. The stoicism and gritty humour of the people in these eventful and difficult times shines through and we see and feel the companionship as they experience a togetherness that they would probably never feel again after they were pushed out to new and far-flung council estates with the aftermath of the war. They lived in Victorian terrace houses that had seen better days, without bathrooms and inside toilets. Supermarkets and self-service shops had not yet arrived and no-one in the street owned a car. Television was still a long way off and coal fires - rather than central heating - were the order of the day. But this is primarily about the life of the street as seen through the eyes of the author, from pre-school years to early teens. We go with him on his first day in the infant school and experience the wrath of 'Fatty' Pinkham, the feared head mistress; struggle alongside him as he makes his way to school through the deep snow during the ferociously cold winter of 1947; we share the hilarious evening spent with his mates at the local cinema which incurred the wrath of the senior citizens. We go train-spotting and end up being chased through a gigantic ash pile and looking like snowmen; we have adventures with Ronnie and Dougie and the rest of his mates that take in the Durham Miners' Gala, 'frogging', camping along the banks of the Wear and being chased by an irate farmer. We take part in a night of boisterous and unusual carol singing; watch a spectacular launching of a ship at a local shipyard; spend a day at Bob's allotment looking after pigs and almost manage to lose one of his prize boars; join Dad and Uncle Jim and Dolly the horse as they turn their hands to furniture removal and leave some of the furniture in a worse state than when they started out ... and more, much more. The characters of the street really draw us into their lives - his family, his close friends, Aunts and Uncles, his cousins, as - through all kinds of adventures -we delve into their lives. We share the turmoil in a child's mind as he is present when his mother's close friend receives the dreaded War Office telegram; and again when he tries to come to terms with the suicide of his friend's mother. But we also become involved in many hilarious incidents in the lives of this close-knit community. It is a snapshot in time. The street no longer exists. But we feel better for having been allowed to live through and share eventful times in the personal lives of the people of Christopher Street.

Author: Alan Sinclair
ISBN-10: 1544230567
ISBN-13: 9781544230566
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Language: English
Published: 03/06/2017
Pages: 178
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 10.00h x 7.01w x 0.38d