Keeping alive the glorious spirit of 1976
Rita Lee Chapman is a UK-born author now resident in Australia. She has written a number of books, including the popular Missing In… series inspired by her travels. Her titles are all available from her author page at Amazon.
Continue Reading1000 Memories of 1976 is just as the name suggests, except that there are actually many more than a thousand. Each and every memory was solicited through Facebook groups whose admins kindly lent me their platforms, and was crafted together into a veritable mosaic of nostalgia which I hope will serve as a valuable reference point for present and future historians of the era.
Continue ReadingFollowing his lead role in the cult sci-fi movie The Man Who Fell to Earth, Bowie adapted the look of his part Thomas Jerome Newton and transformed him into the sinister Duke – a pale, emotionless, Teutonic aristocrat sporting swept-back orange hair and a monochromatic cabaret-style outfit.
Continue ReadingBeing 58 is the first of a series of booklets through which I hope to create some context for my already-published novel, set in 1976, entitled The Best Year Of Our Lives.
Continue ReadingIt was a real pleasure recently to be given a one-hour interview slot on the independent radio show Cockney Rebel Connections.
Continue ReadingOne of the many blessings of being an adolescent is that adult pursuits such as finding a job and paying one’s way in the world lie too far into the future to be at all pressing.
Continue ReadingIt was at first slightly deflating when recently I received, for the first time since The Best Year Of Our Lives was published two and a half years ago, a negative review on Amazon.
Continue ReadingThe scene is set with a reminder that 1897 is Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee year and, needless to say, for the children who were to become the first pupils at the brand new Worple Road Infant School in Isleworth this was an occasion like not many other. On March 1st of that year they took up their places at the school, resplendent as it was with all the latest technology in the form of gas lamps and coal fires.
Continue ReadingOnce again from the pen of my former primary school teacher Ken Noakes has issued forth a gem to keep alive the most precious of memories – those earliest years spent at primary school, in my case the eponymous Worple Road School in Isleworth.
Continue ReadingBook enthusiast Fiona McVie (left) has been interviewing authors for many years. Her blog Authorsinterviews is a rich resource for anybody who wants to learn a bit more about the people behind the stories, so it was my great pleasure to respond to her questions when we communicated last week.
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