Norfolk!

I fell in love with rural Norfolk during my childhood years, and the romance continues today. The countryside, the country people, the history, the accent…

It was the immediate post-war years. With mates Sludge, Gully, Shadley, and Roger the Rough, we tore through the woods bordering our road, living out the cops and robbers, and cowboys and Indians starting to appear on small black and white flickering screens in some homes. And my passion for rodents, invertebrates, and anything that croaked or hissed, was causing my mother no small concern about the stench in my bedroom. Then my pet frog escaped, followed by a few wild mice.

At the age of 10, I fell in love with Sandra, and then Ann and then Carol, and after that, a few more, whilst Barbara fell in love with me. Working on a fruit farm earned me some pocket money – and the occasional quick snog behind a gooseberry bush. And all under a big blue Norfolk sky.

We have a curious way of speaking in Norfolk. And a few words all of our own. We meet for a mardle, talk squit, and those working on a pyghtle might partake of ‘wittals’. I’ll explain in an early chapter. 

Schooldays in the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s were a little different from the 21st century. And earlier still, Nelson and Boudicca shaped our nation in their respective lifetimes. Saxon and Norman churches are monuments to the influence of past ‘invasions’, including the Flemish weavers and Huegenots. Other visitors to the county over the centuries have been vast numbers of Scottish drovers, holiday makers from the Midlands, herring girls from ‘up north’, and Eastern European fruit pickers.

I don’t expect that everyone enthuses over my books, but more than a few tell me they do. BIG BLUE SKY is just out, is on Amazon and in book shops. RRP is £9.95. But if you live in the U.K. and would like a copy posted to you, just £10 incl p&p. Let me know at barrielawrence@btinternet.com, and I can send you a copy. Or copies!

The sketches are by friends, family, and yours truly.If they are somewhat quirky, just remember – we’re NORFOLK!

You’ve got to read it!!!!