V. P. Hall

Good Old World V. P. Hall

In this memoir of growing up the author gives his own version of the life, customs, activities and personalities of the folk around him. The story opens with a house removal by horse-drawn sleigh from a farm to a village pub.

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'Harry Blackberry' is a nickname given to him by one of the villagers and the circumstances are explained early in the story. The entertainment in the pub in wartime and the cast of customers, their songs and pastimes, the darts team and the leek show, the village school and the scholarship exam, Latin lessons and the Sunday School Christmas party, are situations that Harry brings to life.

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We meet Wagstaff, the wielder of the 'stick' who had exploding shoes, according to Harry. We also meet the elderly headmaster who did the football pools and came alive to organise a search of the village by the whole school.

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In a hospital with a perforated appendix and peritonitis, Harry comes round to find a piece of rubber tubing sticking out of his lower abdomen with a safety pin to keep the tube from disappearing into the wound.

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At 12-years-old he and his cousin of 13 decide to run away to sea but the plan is brilliantly thwarted by the port agent.

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Harry learns algebra from gentle Mr C, ballroom dancing from the gym mistress, and how to do corrections of his English composition without getting his exercise book thrown out of the window by a fierce English teacher.

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In his first job Harry finds that his bosses arrive at the office every morning after the official starting time at ten minute intervals according to seniority with the top man arriving last, of course.