Sir James Carlisle - A Life Shaped by Extraordinary Circumstances

 

How to order

A Life Shaped by Extraordinary Circumstances

                   HARDBACK £20  & postage £4.50

By Post: Mail to Lynn Davidson, The Memoir Club, 34 Lynwood Way, South Shields,         Tyne & Wear, NE34 8DB UK cheque payable to Lynn Davidson.

By Email memoirclub@msn.com   OR MOBILE 00 44 755 2086888

By bank transfer: Lynn Davidson, Barclays, 20 83 69    83948145

SWIFT BUKBGB22      IBAN  GB49BUKB20836983948145

Presentation at Antigua book launch Feb 2024

Sir James and Lady Carlisle after the investiture

Grandchildren

After completing his elementary education at Bolans Public School, Antigua, Sir James was appointed as a pupil teacher at the same school. He continued to study by taking a number of General Certificate of Education Courses by correspondence. Eager to acquire higher education he emigrated to Britain where he planned to work and study. He attended evening classes at the Working Men’s College in St Pancras, London and Northwestern Polytechnic, Kentish Town, London. 

In 1961 he joined the Royal Air Force where he was trained as a medic /decompression operator. While in the military Sir James took advantage of the educational opportunities offered. Following his demob in 1966 he attended the Northampton College of Technology where he took a number of A-level science courses. In 1967 he was admitted to the University of Dundee to study dentistry. He graduated as a dental surgeon in 1972.

He was employed in the National Health Service for seven years before returning to Antigua where he became involved with a number of community and charitable projects. When the first Governor-General, Sir Wilfred Jacobs retired due to ill health, the prime minister recommended him to Her Majesty the Queen to be appointed to the post. He served in this capacity for fourteen years (1993-2007).

 

COAT OF ARMS

Sir James has been the recipient of a number of Honours and Awards:

Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG).

Knight of Justice of the Order of St John (KStJ).

Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation (KGN).

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Sheba (GCQS).

A Banner and Plate of the Order of St Michael and St George. These are permanently displayed in St Paul’s Cathedral, London.

Coat of Arms from the Royal College of Arms, London.

Doctor of Laws ad hominem (LLD) from Andrews University, USA.

Fellowship in Dental Surgery (FDS) ad hominem from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Centennial Fellow of the Royal College of Edinburgh in 2005. His name is engraved in the Hall of the famous Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Membership of the British Dental Association.

Fellowship of the International College of Dentists (FICD).

Charter member of the International Academy of Laser Dentists.

Book launch Antigua

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5cy6bNKBxY

REVIEWS/ARTICLES

Mark very kindly gave me a copy of your book. I literally cannot put it down!! Your honesty, your humility and your humour has just blown me over. What you had to endure and fight through to get to where you did is a lesson to us all. James Mackenzie

 

Thank you for a cannot put down book. Lady Joseph

Sir James what a wonderful book! the talent you have for telling the story impresses and delights! and the very felicitous way you build up the tale is so impressive from the days of what seems like unimaginably dim dreary London of the long-ago with its harsh reception of the courageous souls who came to England's shores and the triumphs which follow this. Excellently excellently done! What a masterpiece, ready for multiple readings. Please permit me to congratulate you. It was thoroughly kind to send it. Grazie grazie grazie. It has a very proud place on my shelf. SO kind. Homage and salutation.  Robert Noel 

I was delighted to receive a copy of your book – fascinating stories! 

Professor Peter Mossley

Office of the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua News Room

 
https://www.facebook.com/OPMAntiguaBarbuda/?locale=en_GB

Former Governor General Sir James Carlisle pens autobiography. Makes Presentation to Prime Minister Browne

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda – 7th March 2024…..Former Governor General, Sir James Carlisle, who served in the post from 1993 to 2007, has penned an autobiography that chronicles his life from humble beginnings to ascending to the office of Governor General of Antigua and Barbuda.

Sir James, accompanied by his wife, Lady Emma, made a presentation of the book to Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Tuesday. He told the prime minister that he had very good reasons for writing the book. It is entitled ‘A Life Shaped by Extraordinary Circumstances’ and it traces Sir James’ life from childhood in Bolans to his journey to the UK and his quest for higher learning, his service in the Royal Air Force and his decision to study as a doctor specializing in dentistry. He later returned to Antigua to open his dental office. He was appointed as Governor General following the death of Sir Wilfred Jacobs.

“I remember after Sir Wilfred Jacobs had passed and I had assumed office, a reporter came to Government House and queried ‘what should I write about him. I know nothing of him (Sir Wilfred). I don’t want that to happen to me. This is my attempt at leaving my footprints in the sand of time,” Sir James remarked.

The former governor general told the prime minister that despite having ‘mobility issues’ he felt that it was important for him to visit the Office of the Prime Minister to make the presentation to him in person.

In response, PM Browne thanked Sir James for the gift of the book and also thanked him for his many years of service to the people of Antigua and Barbuda.

“You have certainly made your mark and it is good that you have documented it as I have seen too many instances of people trying to re-write history. So, where we fail to document, we allow for this mis-interpretation of facts. You are from humble beginnings and have risen to the top office in our country; you have made your contribution and having it documented is a good thing. What is good too is that it is an autobiography written by you so it doesn’t get more authentic than that,” he observed.

The prime minister also expressed the hope that other officials who have made significant contributions would follow the example set by Sir James to write their respective stories. “This would avoid leaving the interpretations to others or having them made the subject of political spin. I must give you credit for having the discipline to actually sit down and write your life’s work. Others have had the ability, but did not possess that discipline which is required to undertake a project such as this,” PM Browne noted.

According to the prime minister, Sir James’ time in office was one of exemplary work and honour that he brought to the office.

Additionally, both Sir James and the PM Browne called on young people in the country to look past their current circumstances and to set themselves lofty goals and to strive to achieve them.

Bolans to his journey to the UK and his quest for higher learning, his service in the Royal Air Force and his decision to study as a doctor specialising in dentistry. He later returned to Antigua to open his dental office. He was appointed as Governor-General following the death of Sir Wilfred Jacobs. “I remember after Sir Wilfred Jacobs had passed and I had assumed office, a reporter came to Government House and queried ‘what should I write about him. I know nothing of him (Sir Wilfred). I don’t want that to happen to me. This is my attempt at leaving my footprints in the sand of time,” Sir James remarked. Both Sir James and PM Browne called on young people in the country to look past their current circumstances and to set themselves lofty goals and to strive to achieve them.’

INSTAGRAM – Faith Smith USA

To hear my father’s story most people wouldn’t believe it. So what should you do when you have had a life shaped by extraordinary circumstances? You should definitely write a book! From being one of the best-dressed children in his village to then losing his father and it all at the age of 5, forced to go barefoot, sell coal and cut sugarcane to help his family survive. Literally fighting against all odds, he managed to turn his days of walking in the slums into 14 years of walking into the Palace of Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth ll. My dad went from leaving a country he thought he would never return to, into leading his country. I always say I don’t have a story to tell. Because hearing my father’s life story I’m always like wow, I ain’t got nothing amazing to share.
But you know what? With a dad like mine who needs their own story 😂I just tell his. It’s amazing for the both of us! 

TERRY PATTERSON LIKE MOTHER LIKE SON

 

How to order

LIKE MOTHER LIKE SON

PRICE SOFTBACK £9.99                    HARDBACK £14.99      & p & p £4.50

By Post: Mail to Lynn Davidson, The Memoir Club, 34 Lynwood Way, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE34 8DB cheque payable to Lynn Davidson.
Cheque payable to Lynn Davidson

By Email memoirclub@msn.com   OR mOBILE 0755 2086888

By bank transfer: Lynn Davidson, Barclays, 20 83 69    83948145

Elizabeth Watson is eighteen and from North Shields, a small fishing town in the North East of England she moves to work in Yorkshire during the Second World War.

 It is whilst working as a telecommunications operator that she meets Buzz Beurling, a tall handsome Canadian Spitfire Squadron Leader. She falls madly in love with him. Buzz is sent on a dangerous mission and his plane is shot down. Is he alive or dead? Elizabeth doesn’t know. After six months of receiving no news, Elizabeth is resigned to thinking the latter.

 She returns home and it is there that she meets Charlie Millsap a shipyard welder and pigeon fancier. Elizabeth finds herself in a convenient relationship with a man she doesn’t love. She is forced to marry Charlie when her staunch catholic parents discover she is pregnant. Elizabeth enters a loveless marriage only on the condition that she makes all the decisions.

 Elizabeth is determined to give her daughter Laura everything that she never had. Laura is warned from a very early age never to allow a man to have a controlling influence over her. Laura is ambitious and wants to get on in the world. She lands a highly sought-after job in the perfume department of Fenwick’s in Newcastle.

 It is there that she learns how the other girls have men drooling over them. She is on her way home and awaiting a bus in the Haymarket when a young man taps her on the shoulder. Albert Kinnear is a librarian who has moved from Devon to live on The Ridges estate with his parents after his father lands a top engineering job at Parsons.

 Albert likes the young girl and asks her out on a date. Laura likes him too but remembers what her mother has instilled in her and she treats Albert with contempt.

 Elisabeth Millsap leaves behind a secret that is only revealed after her death.

 

AUTHOR

Terry Patterson was born in North Shields in 1956 and went to Ralph Gardiner secondary modern school. He left with no formal qualifications and began his working life at fifteen years old as an apprentice fish filleter on North Shields fish quay. Terry was bullied at school because of his disability. He wore a calliper and had one foot considerably smaller than the other. Termed a congenital talipes or claw foot. He joined the North Shields Boys Club Boxing Team in 1967.

It was there he was taught how to box by Joe Myers, a black ex-professional.  Terry's boxing career would last twenty-two years with him winning national honours as a schoolboy junior and senior boxer. He boxed several times as an international. A veteran of over 200 bouts he passed the advanced ABA Coaching exam in 1982 and was involved with coaching youngsters until 1986.  Until Terry sustained an industrial accident.

Terry undeterred tried his hand at another sport; Snooker and won the area DSE Disabled Sport England Snooker Championship five years in a row. In 1996 he qualified as a professional snooker referee and travelled all over the country refereeing matches. He refereed at the PIOS tournaments in Prestatyn in Wales and got his England call up to referee the Maltese open in 1997. In 2002 Terry became North Tyneside's first World Professional Snooker Coach. He'd been coaching youngsters on a regular basis at Wallsend Supa Snooker for disabled and able-bodied youngsters. He formed the combination challenge trophy whereby able-bodied players could team up with disabled players and then compete against like-minded competitors. He also created the Six Ball Shootout for disabled and beginners so they could finish a game. Many wheelchair players found it too exhausting to play a full game. Terry has given thirty-two years of his life to coaching two different sports.

Terry threw himself into college work at North Tyneside taking A-level fine art and design, English literature, history, sociology, and psychology. He also did health social care courses 1.2.3 then went back to work as a volunteer at Percy Hedley training centre working with clients who had Cerebral Palsy. He stayed there for over a year and got to meet HRH Prince Andrew when he came on a visit.  He spent five years working in various care homes until the injuries he sustained over the years got the better of him and he had to have a pacemaker fitted. To fill the void Terry who had always done bits of poetry and short stories as a young boy began to write.

To date Terry has written forty-eight novellas and two novels, Like Mother like Son and He Who Rides a Tiger.  He has written twenty-four plays and continues to write every day. 

REVIEWS

Jennifer Maughan - I've started reading the book Terry and looking forward to reading the rest I used to live on the Meadowell estate when I was a teenager I lived in Ripley Avenue so I can relate to your past and I hope you go far with your books.

Mawreen Hood - Well done for yesterday Terry. I enjoyed your talk and am so pleased I came. It was very interesting and I believe you had your audience captivated. I purchased your book and look forward to reading it.

Terry Christie - Terry Patterson is a pure gentleman. I met Terry when I was only about 11 years of age when I boxed for North Shields East End Boys Club and Terry gave up so much of his time to pass on to us the great boxing skills and knowledge he gained over the years. I don’t even know if Terry realises how much of a great impression and ambassador/mentor he was to us young boxing hopefuls. So many great fighters who did brilliantly are a credit to Terry.

I wish Terry all the very best with his book sales.  Terry my friend you are a legend.

Ralph Mason - Sometimes, once in a lifetime comes one person, one man. A man who I have the privilege of knowing, and a dear friend. Terry Patterson. A man who loves his roots, a man who writes these wonderful stories of everyday people, living everyday lives in and around North Shields. His stories portray events in the lives of fictional people, but also uses names of the friends he knows in the wonderful little town we all hold dear.

Dedication is a really special word. For a really special man... My good friend. A treasure living amongst us...

Carla M Junghans  - Was lovely for my mam Joyce Junghans to see her and my dad's old time friend Terry Patterson. I love hearing their stories from the 'olden days'. Well done Terry I look forward to reading the book after mam.

Mary Hodgson - I am halfway through this book and absolutely love it and brings back memories of Bridge Road South and The Ridges the club on stilts, Collingwood youth club and various other clubs that have been mentioned in your book. An absolutely brilliant read and I definitely recognise people and places.

Shawn Fenwick - You gave a great talk today, Terry. You’re a very powerful storyteller and you may not have noticed, but we all sat in silence listening to every word you said. Your memory is amazing! Maybe you should start writing your biography.

Christine Harris - Absolutely fantastic just love reading these.

Margaret Tait - I'm on the edge of my seat

Alan Hassell - Wonderful read, thank you.

Jackie Davis - Brilliant, this story would make a fantastic film.

Interview with ALIKIVI

KNOCKOUT with former boxer Terry Patterson

August 16, 2024 / Leave a comment

Terry Patterson had one foot considerably smaller than the other so wore a calliper.

“It’s known as a clawfoot. I was bullied by school gangs so decided to fight back”.

From gutting fish, to boxing to heartfelt poetry – this is Terry Patterson’s story.

Born in North Shields in 1956 Terry attended Ralph Gardiner Secondary modern school, he left with no qualifications but was taken on as an apprentice fish filleter at North Shields fish quay.

“Working on the fish quay was hard but good fun. Weighing, icing and boxing salmon to begin with, then learning how to fillet various types of fish and how to drive a popper lorry. I tell ya’ the smell took some getting used to”.

With school bullying still fresh in his mind, Terry joined North Shields Boys Boxing Club where he was taught by ex-professional Joe Myers.

His boxing career lasted a total of 22 years, in that time he worked in the shipyards and had been a school caretaker.

A couple of years ago I interviewed ex-boxer now coach Preston Brown from Sunderland.…”Yeah I know Pasty Brown very well” said Terry. “Over the years I fought a few Sunderland lads. Derek Nelson was a classy boxer who turned pro. I fought two ABA finalists in Gordon Pedro Philips and Willie Neil. I fought Pedro in the North Eastern Counties final but lost. Both lads were well schooled”.

“Willie’s coach asked if I’d fight him one evening because his opponent hadn’t turned up. I weighed in at 10st 6lbs (welterweight), he was heavier than me by 6lbs. I knew his reputation for knocking people out. Norman Fawcett negotiated with his team and £50 was slipped into my hand for taking the fight”.

“Willie could bang a bit – so could I – but he had me down three times during our bout. We set about each other unleashing hell for three fierce rounds. I had him going at one point after landing a good left hook but the bell sounded and my chance to finish him had gone”.

“Gordon and Willie are still good to this day – it’s been 36 years since we shared a ring. I see them at boxing dinners and  Boxing Club Reunions. Both of them bought my novel ‘Like Mother Like Son’.

In over 200 bouts Terry won national honours and passed the advanced ABA coaching exam plus he was involved with coaching youngsters until 1986.

After an industrial accident left him unfit to continue his love of boxing, Terry was determined to focus on another sport and won the Disabled Sport England Snooker Championship five years in a row.

“I qualified as a UK professional snooker referee and got a call up to referee the Maltese open in 1997” said Terry.

In 2002 he became North Tyneside’s first World Professional Snooker Coach. He coached at Wallsend Supa Snooker for disabled and able-bodied youngsters, but after a fall on icy roads, not only had he injured his back, he suffered from a dark depression.  

Terry added “I was diagnosed as clinically depressed. It’s something I just try to get on with. A surgeon advised me to take up knitting – no I didn’t – but I was determined to excel at something.”

Throwing himself into a number of academic courses at North Tyneside College Terry volunteered at Newcastle’s Percy Hedley training centre working for clients who had cerebral palsy.

He spent over five years working in various care homes until the injuries he sustained over the years got the better of him.

“Depression is something I’ve dealt with my whole life but I feel life still holds challenges for me”.

With an interest in poetry and short stories he began to spend his time writing. To date Terry has produced 46 novellas and three novels ‘Like Mother like Son’, ‘He Who Rides a Tiger’ and ‘Living with Grandpa’. His writing is free to read on Movellas.com.

“I’ve also written plays – two of which have been staged in various theatres. ‘Reaping the Benefits’ and ‘The Redundant Blade’ which was written as a tribute to Tom Hadaway”.

“We were only four days from staging ‘The House Across the Road’ when covid broke and we lost cast members. Eighteen months later we tried again and two days before the production two young cast members took ill. My producer and I lost a lot of money and we decided to walk away and the group disbanded.”

Prolific North East Writer and theatre producer Alison Stanley and cast will be reading one of Terry’s plays at Laurels in Whitley Bay, at 2pm on Thursday 22nd August. ‘A Home for Willie’ raises awareness of dementia.

Terry explains “At 68 years of age I’ve never done any for personal gain, never made anything from it but would love to have one of my books or plays made into a television programme or series”.

“I would like to follow where Catherine Cookson and Tom Hadaway left off. I hope that one day when I’m no longer around I’ll be remembered like the people who inspired me”.

Alikivi   August 2024

 

A DIPLOMATIC LIFE John Harrison

                                 A DIPLOMATIC LIFE

John Harrison

Softback £11.50 & £3.00   P & P   UK 

How to order  

 By Post: Mail to Lynn Davidson, The Memoir Club, 34 Lynwood Way, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE34 8DB cheque payable to Lynn Davidson.
Cheque payable to Lynn Davidson

By Email memoirclub@msn.com

By bank transfer: Lynn Davidson, Barclays, 20 83 69    83948145

John Harrison was born into a diplomatic family. His father and maternal grandfather were both diplomats. He therefore developed a taste for foreign travel at an early age. Adventurous journeys to visit his parents in Brazil and Iran provide a forerunner to his subsequent career.
He carved out his own route across the world with postings to Burma, Laos, Ethiopia, Turkey, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Pakistan and finally as High Commissioner in Mauritius. All these assignments were interspersed with important jobs in London in both the Cabinet Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

He was witness to a number of military coups and their aftermath. Political drama was never far away and living conditions were often difficult. Amusing and untoward incidents abounded, as did opportunities to meet people from different cultures and travel to exotic and rarely visited parts of the world. Personal and family life are woven inextricably into his various professional roles, including the huge support received from his wife Jenny.
Since retirement in 1997, he has lived in Hampshire enjoying gardening, golf, more travel and family life.

INTRODUCTION

When my three children all got married within the next few years, and then grandchildren started coming along, I began to realise that none of them had much idea about my early life apart from snippets picked up in random family conversations. The children had no choice but to blend into the slightly unusual way of life my wife, Jenny, and I were leading. Being largely overseas meant that they did not have the firm roots that other UK-based families had.

The same had applied to me, having been born into a diplomatic family. We seemed to be regularly packing up and on the move. Not that I minded too much. I enjoyed the travel opportunities and I was fortunate to have the fallback of a welcoming wider family based mainly in Sussex.

Our four grandchildren were born within five years of each other. When they were young I had great fun reading and telling them bedtime stories. I invented a little pink pig that had strayed into our garden and had various meetings and adventures with the likes of Peter Rabbit (we had a vegetable area), Squirrel Nutkin and the Gruffalo with his mouse (who all lived in our small piece of woodland). I was always being asked for more, but I was running out of ideas and they were getting older.

It then occurred to me that I had actually myself had some quite exotic real-life adventures around the world, which might in due course be of interest to them. So I started writing up some of my early life experiences, mainly travels, but without really thinking at the time that this could develop into a full scale memoir. I had periodically kept a diary, and indeed quite a detailed one of travels to interesting places. I then began to join the dots; boarding schools, university life, holiday periods with kind relatives, joining the Foreign Office and first posts overseas. There seemed to be plenty of material from Burma, Ethiopia and Turkey worth writing about, not to mention what happened thereafter.

There would be a long road ahead requiring some detailed research and memory racking. But with more leisure time and long winter evenings it seemed feasible. So I persevered and dug deeper into my official life. Lockdown from coronavirus in early 2020 helped to increase the momentum. I received encouragement from friends and former colleagues, particularly Sir Jeremy Thomas, my ambassador in Luxembourg, and Sir Nicholas Barrington, my boss in both London and Pakistan.

Fortunately my mother had kept and returned to me most of the letters I had written home from overseas as well as Jenny’s very full newsletters. Between them they contained first-hand accounts of, and comments on, activities, events, visits and so on. They also provided valuable source information on names of places and people plus dates which might otherwise have become a little hazy. It took time sorting out the ephemeral from the more substantive items, which often then had to be related to the wider local context. But it was absorbing work, and a far cry from the original bedside or family stories.

Special thanks go to my wife, Jenny, who has been such a support since we first met at a UN Conference in Geneva in 1966. She has had to put up with periods of hardship and difficulty, both in England and overseas but, as will be apparent, we have shared many good times as well. She has helpfully remembered for me some of the stories and incidents I have described and, where necessary, corrected points of detail.

I would also like to thank my brothers Bruce and Michael, and also my cousin Bina Arbuthnott, for letting me describe some of the adventures we had together, particularly in the early part of my life. I am grateful too to friends and former colleagues who have encouraged me to tread this path.

More special thanks of course go to my three children James, Carolyn and Sarah who have shared the trials as well as some of the high spots of this long-running saga since they arrived on the scene. I have written this partly for them and their respective spouses Doreen, Dominic and David.

Nor do I wish to forget my parents who started me on this journey into diplomatic life and supported me along the way. I was never going to match the distinguished career of my father, Sir Geoffrey Harrison. A pity he did not put pen to paper in his retirement apart from a few lectures. But I may have derived some inspiration for this book from my mother who, in her nineties, published some memoirs called On the Fringe under the name of Katherine Harrison describing her experiences living in the realms of Hitler and Stalin.

REVIEW

Warmest congratulations on your book, which I have bought, read and much admired. Good cover picture, clear print and full of information .... and so concise. I would recommend it to anyone who might be interested.                   Sir Nicholas Barrington

Really enjoyed reading your memoirs .... the places visited, the people met
 
I couldn’t put it down. So well written
 
Really enjoyed your book. You write so well and fluidly. Some amazing travels
 
Greatly enjoyed reading your book .... gives helpful insights into the life of a diplomat
 
Most interesting .... a life lived to the full and often at full tilt
 
I was instantly hooked. Especially enjoyed reading about all your adventures
 
A good read

 

SEEKING AN HONOURED PLACE IN THE WORLD

A memoir of a Japanese diplomat,  1945-97

Masamichi  Hanabusa

HOW TO ORDER

£15.00 & P & P UK £3.00

 Bank transfer contact Lynn Davidson at memoirclub@msn.com or Telephone: 07552086888

By Post: Lynn Davidson, The Memoir Club, 34 Lynwood Way, South Shields. NE34 8DB

Cheques payable to Lynn Davidson

Paypal send to memoirclub@msn.com

This memoir is the first ever written by a senior Japanese professional diplomat in English. The author candidly and clearly describes what he did and thought during his forty years of diplomatic life from 1958-97. During this time, Saigon fell, a Cold War was fought and ended with the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Japan became the top aid donor and entered into bitter economic rivalry with the USA.

 The book allows readers to have an insight into the Japanese mentality and working methods and consists of two parts. The first deals with the author’s fascinating diplomatic and family life. The latter part is an epilogue, based on his historic viewpoint and his own diplomatic experiences. He  proposes a long-term future path for Japan to pursue, between the hegemonic USA and emerging China. His ideal of a non-aligned, independent Japan with its limited but effective war deterring military capacity is worthy of serious attention for the students of Asia‘s future.

 For the reason of both insight into Japan and the uniqueness of the author‘s views, this book is recommended for the students of Japanese diplomacy.

 Author

Hanabusa Masamichi was born in Tokyo in 1933. After graduating from Keio University, he joined the Japanese foreign service in 1958. For forty years he served various posts both at home and abroad. As Japan recovered from the destruction of the last war and grew fast into a major economic power, Hanabusa witnessed the enormous changes in Japan’s position in the world and the world itself.

Throughout these turbulent years the author endeavoured to find an honoured place for defeated Japan in the world society true to the ideal enshrined in Japan’s post-war Peace Constitution. Much of his efforts in the service focused on the economic development of the developing world and the presentation of Japan’s true figure to the world. Reflecting the unique vicissitudes of his motherland in these years, Hanabusa encountered a variety of situations rarely experienced by diplomats.

 After retirement in 1997, he promoted various non-profit activities such as the English-Speaking Union of Japan, Japan-Italy Association, Giuseppe Verdi Association of Japan, etc. At the publishing of this memoir he was eighty-eight.eighty-eight in a

REVIEW

Japanese diplomats very seldom publish their memoirs. In this sense, this book is a rarity. It is hoped that such efforts would heighten transparency of Japanese diplomacy. 

M. Nishikawa, visiting senior editor on the website of the Mainichi newspaper

Garn Yem by Haydn Watson

 GARN YEM

HAYDN WATSON

Price £9.99 & £3.00 P & P

To ORDER:

Available from Lynn Davidson, The Memoir Club, 34 Lynwood Way,                                        South Shields, NE34 8DB

Please make cheques payable to Lynn Davidson

Or email memoirclub@msn.com

Mobile 07552086888

The tales of nine young men and their escapades across the North East in the 70s.

AUTHOR

I was brought up in South Shields. I lived in Simonside and attended Simonside Junior School. I then attended Westoe Boys and gained certificates including Northern Counties in Geography and CSE Grades in maths, English and English literature, history and technology. My first 20 years in employment was as an Engineer in Fabrication and Welding. In 1991, I gained a B.Ed. in Design & Technology and began teaching in Seaton Delaval. I moved onto schools as Head of Department in Sunderland and Ashington. I then took up lecturing posts at New College Durham, Gateshead College and Newcastle College. I retired from teaching in 2020.

As a child, I was an avid reader and that has continued to this day. I was spellbound by books such as Kidnapped, Treasure Island, War Of The Worlds, Robinson Crusoe, Tom Sawyer, The Old Man And The Sea, To Kill A Mockingbird and Kon Tiki.

In 2012, I began writing short stories and in 2020 I started writing my first book A Life Navigated. This story was based on true events and follows the life of a man who faced many challenges in his life. My second book Garn Yem, is about my life as a teenager in South Shields. My third book What Have We Done? is a story of the Holocaust. I have created a fictional Jewish family in Czechoslovakia who are caught up in the Shoah. I have also written a follow up to Garn Yem, which will be published next year.

I have five children and eleven grandchildren. My interests include music; I play guitar and I am a singer with the Jarrow Choral Society.

INTRODUCTION

We all look back on our formative years as young people with memories of laughter, love, sadness, desire, aspiration and friendship. If we could somehow turn the clock back and in doing so, change some elements of our past; would we be any better for it? Life throws things at us and we make decisions that will have a huge bearing on our future.

This book is a short history of a group of young men embarking on their odyssey as teenagers. The narrative is set in the early 1970s, in and around South Shields. I have used fictional characters to portray individuals and I have created settings and locales to embellish the storyline. There are some true events portrayed within the book and I have changed names and places to avoid any contradictions.

The narrative conjures up a picture of young people grasping life with both hands. It is about friendship; and with that affinity, comes sadness, humour, love and tragedy. This was the 70s, a brave new world of free-thinking young people. I was grateful to be one of the nine young men who challenged the norm and lived their lives with a smile on their face. I hope you can identify with the characters in this book and how they handle the experiences they encounter.

Finally, I do hope you enjoy Garn Yem and in order to maintain a sense of progression within the book; I would encourage you to read the individual short stories in chronological order beginning with Piles and Piccolos and ending with Laughter is the Best Medicine.

I make no apologies for the content of the book; this was a period in time when political correctness was a vision for the future. Any aspects of this narrative that appear to be factually incorrect, then that is my error and mine alone. I dedicate this book to friendship and I hope in reading it, you reflect upon your own friend's past and present.

REVIEWS

So, I have started reading your book and have laughed out loud three times and I have only read the first story.  Catherine.

It`s a great book. Thoroughly enjoyed it.   Freda Carney.

A laugh a minute, great read.  Ben Simpson.

A trip back in time, very funny and the characters are so realistic. Tom Walker.

I was reading Garn Yem in my local pub. I had to put it down because I was laughing out loud. A great read. Bob Green, South Shields.

It`s an excellent read. The author has produced a wonderful reminder of what friendship is all about. The characters portrayed are expertly defined and the stories take you back in time. Frank Rice, Hetton le Hole.

It brings back many happy memories of my youth in the northeast. Margaret Harris, Scotland.

Bought this fantastic book and what a great read. It takes you back to the 70s, good banter with many local places and faces coming back to life. Amazing work. Shirley Walker, South Shields.

Brave tales beautifully told. John Atkinson

I was reading Garn Yem in my local pub. I had to put it down. Because I was laughing out loud, great humour. Bob Green, South Shields.

It’s a great read, he has produced a wonderful reminder of what friendship is all about. Frank Rice, Hetton le Hole.

It brings back many happy memories of my youth in the north east. a brilliant and funny book. Margaret Wilson, Aberdeen.

I bought this fantastic book and what a great read, it takes you back to the seventies. Good banter and local places and faces come back to life. amazing work. Shirley Walker, South Shields.

What a read, loads of laughs and memories of great times. It is a well written book that looks back on the events and situations that were a big part of that era. Tom Simpson, Whitburn.

A great book, could not put it down. David Benham, South Shields.