Books&Poetry immediately wishing for the life in the wilds her siblings recreated in stories. She said: “As a small child I was besotted with animals, and the more exotic the better. But the nearest I got in St Helens was a moth-eaten stuffed tiger in the small museum in Victoria Park! When I was a little older, I realised my dream of striding through the jungle in jodhpurs and a pith helmet tracking wild beasts was just a fantasy. So I decided to get a job as a keeper at Chester Zoo when I left school.”
Tails and tales
AMONG GIANTS From a small child Pamela Sumner was animal-mad. Now the former zoo keeper has collected her experiences into a memoir and, at the age of 79, is enjoying her first foray into publishing
D
affs, Chimps and Giant Dogs is as loss of her father at the age of six. intriguing a read as you would expect Her family came from the Welsh village of Sychdyn, from its curious title – and its author is just as fascinating. where her older sister Pamela Sumner has travelled and brother grew up “Having a and worked all over the roaming the woods, fishing in streams and place and encountered wacky sense plenty of adventures along helping with haymaking of humour and the harvest. The the way, more often than has helped” not involving animals. rural idyll changed when Pamela’s father found a Her love for all creatures is a thread woven through new job and the family moved to St Helens, the witty anecdotes in this gentle book, as is the influence bursting into tears at the sight of their of a mother she clearly adored and two-bedroomed terraced house. It was here that Pamela was born – almost siblings who shaped her life after the
LOCA L B OOKS Through the Gate of Horns by VR Wilson VR Wilson is an author based in Gwynedd, Wales, and this is a tale of mystery woven through time and place. Having picked up her friend Josie at the station, Lorne hopes for an uneventful drive to Waydon, where they will link up with five friends for a reunion weekend. But during a stop on their journey, a chance meeting with a smart young woman makes Josie almost collapse from shock. The stranger introduces herself as Arina Aubel, and Josie tells Lorne she is identical to the face of a woman she has been seeing in a recurring dream, though the setting of the dream is centuries old. Could the dream be a prophecy and, if so, is Arina in danger? Published by Austin Macauley, £9.99 (ebook £3.50)
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Daffs, Chimps and Giant Dogs describes the career that followed and Pamela’s lifelong devotion to animals. At 79, she still runs a busy boarding kennels. She said: “I have many clear memories starting from when I was quite small. After years of regaling family and friends with tales of my childhood and life, they kept insisting, ‘You must write a book!’ I hope they can stop nagging me now! But I am proud to have done it. “I have been extremely lucky to have had a such a happy life. Of course, having a wacky sense of humour has helped tremendously!” Daffs, Chimps and Giant Dogs is published by Ballyphelan Press, price £17.99.
Patrick’s Story To Regain a Legacy by TC Sutton by Patrick Carroll Patrick Carroll has had a TC Sutton has just released the historical fiction To Regain a Legacy, long and adventurous life written from the author’s home in before settling with his wife, son and family in a Wrexham. Set during France’s preRevolutionary Ancien Régime it follows converted barn in Wales. This is his life story, and it one man’s journey to win back his father’s legacy. is inspirational, recounting the journey that led Gambler, socialite to that move. Patrick’s and swordsman Napier Gerrard Story shares the joys and trials of a special person who has enjoys a life of touched the lives of many for good. leisure and luxury. However, his Patrick’s mother was sent to comfortable lifestyle Scotland to give birth to her son is blighted by the in the land of his father. His future adventures took him to Birmingham – memory of a double apart from a brief return to Scotland murder when, as a teenager, he lived when his mother had tuberculosis. He has had many adventures and in England with his lays claim to more than nine lives! father, a fencing master to a royal duke. Knowing that he will never have peace of mind until he Calling local authors… has done the right thing by If you’re living in the Shire area or have written his father’s memory, Napier about a local person or place, we’d love to decides to return to England feature you on these pages. Email editorial@ in search of his father’s shiremagazine.co.uk. resting place.
