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BOSWELLS: ROM

"Romany Girl"

Wlfemescote, Summer Night, 1555 A.D.

      "Tom, the miller's son, staggered along the track up the hill to Sir Hugh Thornnyecruftt's castle, his breath coming in ragged, rasping gasps. His wild staring eyes glanced constantly backwards as if pursued by the Devil himself. The full moon silvered the landscape, the trees and bushes throwing deep, black shadows. Branches tore at his clothes and whipped his face, but he seemed not to notice them, the terror he had witnessed rendering him numb to pain. His simple mind reeled with panic."... 

Author's note:

      Wlfemescote is known by its present day name of Wolfhampcote and is located near the border of Northamptonshire, England. Although this is a work of fiction, it draws upon history, places, actual events and residents of Daventry.

      Illustrations by granddaughter Kelsey. Thanks, Kel!

 

 

 

 

"I really enjoyed this book! A romp through time and space, an historical adventure/fantasy and thriller - all in one. Once I started reading it, I really could not put it down! I don't want to reveal much - but I loved the characters and loved the story."

By By Grace

"Excellent story and written very well. This story was so unique, nothing like I have read before. Kept me rivited and I hated to put it down. Easy to read and to follow. I can't wait for the next book!"

Anita Reynolds

"Haven't had chance to read it yet as my husband got in first but he keeps reading bits out loud to me sounds very interesting reading
can't wait for the book"

Chris

"I really enjoyed this book,great story and well paced. I honestly believe it would make a fantastic movie. Highly recommended"

Mr. M. J. McEvoy

In an English Pub,

The Best Years,

THE ABBEY

November 18th, 1940

    The German bombers droned overhead on their mission to bomb and eliminate the nearby city of Coventry on Hitler's orders. The AA guns barked at them ineffectually, the stream swept on relentlessly as my mother lay there in a bedroom at the Abbey Inn in labor with me.

     The doctor apparently was quite nervous about the action above his head.

     "Mrs. Reynolds, what shall we do?" he asked as the falling shrapnel from the AA defenses clattered off the roof.

      "I can't go anywhere, you're staying with me," was Mother's terse reply.

     I was on the way, 'serenaded' by the drone of the Luftwaffe, bellowing AA guns and the rattle of spent shrapnel bouncing off the roof of the Abbey Inn.

     Sometime the next morning, I arrived.

     My sister, June, who had not been told I was in the offing, was not greatly impressed.

     Mum or Dad, never did discuss sex, or its implications with us. ...

 

Author's note: 

     This, my second book, is a work of non-fiction.

 

 

 

 

"An interesting read especially when you can associate with some of the places and people. Good to know how life was. Would like more"

V.McGurk

"Loved reading this couldn't put it down was so interesting. Brought back lots of childhood memories."

Chris

"I guess the lucky ones among us can remember our childhood with great fondness, the sun always shone, the ice cream tasted better and so on, but to write a book that captures all of this without laying on the sentiment with a shovel is a triumph.
I loved reading this and did so in one sitting. This is a feel good book on every level."

Mr. M. J. McEvoy

Oh Lord Take Me Back Home Again

A Memory of Food from  

the Best Years

   There are cookbooks out there ad nauseum, the bargain shelves in bookstores are lined with them - and good ones too. I know, I have a bookcase full of them! So why would I do one? Well, it happened like this. I have two books published - ‘Boswells: Rom’ and ‘In an English Pub, The Best Years, THE ABBEY’ - and I’m working on a third novel, ‘Boswells: The Hat.’

    Events have a way of changing your plans, the event in this case was the sale of our house, a place where I have resided for the last forty years - I won’t trouble you with what went into this momentous decision. All the myriad details that go into effecting the sale (the paperwork - oh My Sainted Aunt!) made it impossible to immerse myself in the novel’s theme. Then something serendipitous happens, in clearing out the reams of old paperwork I come across an early attempt of mine at a cookbook that was never published and rather pretentiously and provocatively called ‘A Faggot is a Faggot or a Savory Duck? A Cooking Drama in Three Acts.’ You might think I am being a tad homophobic with such a title, but you will see the title’s roots inside this book. Most of the credit for the recipes go to my sister, June, who some years ago at my request for recipes that were used in the Abbey Inn painstakingly wrote them out and mailed them to me. Discovering those gems anew in my files is a major part of the impetus for this.

    Another factor is that folks liked, quite unexpectedly for me, my ‘Recipes Remembered’ in my memoir of the happy time spent in the Abbey Inn - these are reprised also.

   This did not require me to burrow deep into the realms of fantasy but somewhat satisfied the literary itch, but to create a look at the recipes largely used by my Mum and Grandmother, Nan Baker. Having said that, this intended ‘stopgap’ took on a life of its own. I found myself digging deeper into the background of what was intended to be completed in a relatively short period, for not only do I have a passion for writing, I am also a curious person by nature and could not resist the lure of delving into the origin and history of some of these recipes.

   I have attempted to preserve some of our old family recipes here with a little humor and history to boot. They are mostly simple, yet savory and pay scant regard to limiting the fat and cholesterol content - be warned!

   I decided that these had to be set down for posterity as I have seen many of my generation shuffle off this earthly coil and know I have a limited time to do this. My sister June is the major repository of Mum and Nan Baker’s cooking and that the memory of them and their ingenuity could be lost forever if no effort was made. A big thanks to my Sis for putting her memories on paper.

   The greatest tribute goes to Mum and her Mother (Nan Baker) whose cooking I took for granted all those years, naive was I in thinking all women did this naturally! They even kept a high standard during scarcity of WWII and the austerity and of the post-war years - what we had was often controlled by strict rationing and often limited the creation of these recipes. This high standard was aided by Dad and Frank ‘Crafty’ Russell’s prowess in the gardens. We had fresh fruits and vegetables in abundance with the flavor and nutrition that only they can endow. We were also fortunate in being a country pub, a supply of rabbits, birds and fish always seemed to be on hand.

 

“Oh those blessed years, Lord, take me back Home again, for me that will always be the old Abbey Inn.”

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