Oh Carole

This is a non-fiction love story with a tragic end, played out in the 1960s and 70s in Worcestershire, on the Hampshire-Surrey border, in the old county of Huntingdonshire and in Wiltshire.

On the way, the author sheds light on the Worcester of their courtship in the early 1960s with its pubs, coffee bars, new innovative Chinese and Indian restaurants, funfairs, a jazz club, concerts at the Gaumont Cinema and the Victor Sylvester Dance Studio free sessions on Friday nights, as well as the Cambridge of the mid-1970s and its noted resident Syd Barrett.

The author is not immune to getting sidetracked into waxing lyrical about his other main interests: music and cars.

Carole, with her quirky, childlike personality and lilting West Country banter, could turn any situation into a joyous, enchanting memory, and the author has tried to reflect this in her story. She had her own unique way of dealing with life’s challenges, like marriage, cooking, childbirth, motherhood, her husband’s “career moves” from one end of the country to the other, driving lessons, learning to swim, DIY, and being a parish councillor.

In meeting her final daunting challenge, she showed great fortitude, courage and consideration for others.