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The story follows the life of two generations of the MacGregor family through the eyes of Linda, Douglas MacGregor’s daughter. Beginning in the Possilpark area of Glasgow in 1950 when Linda is two years old, the novel traces the family’s struggles though the first part of 20th Century. From the hardships of the 1930’s and love story between her parents, Douglas and Margie through the terrifying war years of the 1940's. World War II seriously affected many soldiers and their families. Men sometimes sacrificed up to 6 years of their lives defending the UK from Nazi oppression. Some were killed in action, others spent the rest of their lives hospitalised and the "lucky ones" were left with their nightmare memories. . Douglas Macgregor was one of the "lucky ones," He never spoke about his horrific war experiences. Instead he turned to drinking to erase the pain then took his torment out on the ones he loved most—his family." |
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ISBN 1-84667-013-6 |
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| What's For Ye, Won't Go By Ye tells how families at home survived in spite of the constant fear of German air bombing raids It covers the peaceful post-war 1950's. It reflects on the on-going Glasgow conflicts concerning Protestant/Catholic and Rangers/Celtic. It ventures into the magical 1960's: The Glasgow sense of humour shines through in this story, along with the emotion of the times. | |
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| What's For Ye, Won't Go By Ye is not just a novel, but a trip into the hearts and minds of our parents and grandparents into their personal demons, courage, and triumphs. It also takes into account Douglas MacGregor's experiences when he was based in army barracks in Surrey, operating anti-aircraft guns on the White Cliffs of Dover and abroad during the Second World War. | |
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. Chasin' that Carrot .... by Avril D Saunders |
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It is 1969, James and Linda Alexander
start married life with everything against
them, she is pregnant, money is tight and
they rent a pokey wee room and
kitchen in Glasgow's east-end with an
outside toilet in the close which they share
with two other families. The hardships and
humour of ordinary folk living in Glasgow
during this era come into their own in this
book. Things are difficult, work is scant in Glasgow and James and Linda have a toddler son with another one on the way, they decide to take the plunge and move down south to ‘Chase that Carrot’ but it isn’t an easy ride. Work is plentiful and wages are good in the London area, but there are no houses for rent. James roughs it in a rented room and Linda stays on in Glasgow. Weeks before the birth, James finds an apartment in Weybridge, Linda bids a tearful farewell to her parents and joins her husband. Homesick on New Years Eve, they set off for Glasgow. Disaster strikes and they spend the night in a cell in Carlisle Police Station. Another time they attend a family wedding, but on the return journey they are involved in a nasty accident on the A74. |
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| The young couple work hard , endure hardships, suffer injustice but feel their perseverance starting to pay off when they buy a house in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. Their eyes are opened up by some of the ‘goings on’ in their new street; things, they thought only happen in fiction films. | |
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The hardships and humour of
Glasgow folk in this era come to their own in this book. |
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Avril Saunders, 60, is an author who only turned to writing after retiring from her job in television for Thames TV at Teddington Lock. She now lives in Addlestone but was a resident of Kingston for 30 years and has based her second book, Chasin’ That Carrot, on a couple who move to the borough after the Second World War. She spoke to reporter Alita Howe. www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/ Nov.2008
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What made you turn to writing? My husband always said I should write a book but I never found the time before I retired. I’ve always enjoyed writing, I suppose I inherited it from my dad. He always used to write down his experiences about the war to help us out with school projects. I like writing letters and people always seem to enjoy reading them as well, so I carried on from there. I was only going to do the one but found myself writing the sequel. How did the sequel come about? I had letters from all over the world after the first book, What’s For Ye Won’t Go By Ye and it is now being published in India and Russia. It was lovely to have such nice feedback. The first book went up to the 1960s so I decided to carry it on from there until the present day. What are the books about? The first book followed a young girl in Glasgow, who was born after the Second World War. It tells her family’s story into the 1950s and the pop era of the 60s, before she meets someone and falls in love. The sequel explores what happens to the couple after that. I left Scotland in 1971 and was nervous about getting details about the area wrong, so I decided to move the fictional character to Surrey so I could write about places I knew about. Are the books semi-autobiographical? No, but they are inspired by my own memories and experiences of the people and places I remember. The people are fictional but I have drawn on things that happened during those years and elaborated on them to form the story. Did you have to do a lot of research about Kingston in the 1970s and 80s? I lived in Kingston for 30 years so I used my memories of the area, such as the famous power station chimneys, Bentalls, taking trips on the river to Hampton Court Palace and the old Three Fishes pub. Will there be a third book to create a trilogy? Everyone keeps saying that to me. Chasin’ That Carrot follows the couple right up until the present day, but my husband said there is always scope to branch off. I don’t know when I’ll have time now with three grandchildren though. ❑ Chasin’ that Carrot, published by Pneuma Springs Publishing, is out now. |
| See also article in Surrey Herald newspaper |
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....by Avril D Saunders |
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Chasin' that Carrot .... by Avril D Saunders |
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Get your signed copy using options above, alternatively the books are available for sale in :
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Avril Dalziel Saunders was born in Glasgow. |
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Like most families, life was a struggle after the Second World War. Her
parents worked hard to make ends meet but held their heads high. As far
as Avril and her brother were concerned, they felt privileged and were
brought up with lots of love, honesty and respect. |
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She is now a grandmother and has retired to the Surrey countryside. As well as having many interests including music, travel, theatre and the arts, she has always loved writing and has 'at last' found the time to write her novels. |
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Welcome tae GLESCAPALS Avril ... Nov.2006 & Oct.2008 |
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