David is an author of fantasy novels and a writer and producer of rock music. The site provides information of his creative works and has a regular blog of news of his latest work and insights into his life and past.
As a young boy in Leeds I found fog rather exciting. In the 1950s coal was the main source of heating in houses and in Harehills and local areas the … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – Fog and Smog the Curse of the Winter Months in Northern Cities and a Blight for Travellers. From the 1950s to 2000s and Still Causing Havoc.
We didn’t realise it at the time, but we were living through a revolution. The world was changing and changing quickly and children were oblivious to this change apart from … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – Toys, Toys, Toys! The move from the Imagination. Clockwork to Battery Power – Simple to Complex, and from Cheap to Expensive – 1950s to 1960s.
Stories! Stories have had such an impact on my life and on most people’s. When I was very little, before television, there was the radio and I still remember the … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – Learning to Read, Learning to Love Books and Learning to Write. Listen With Mother, Radio Assemblies, Oakwood Library, Secret Seven, Famous Five, The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Lord of the Rings.
With the windows replaced, my father was starting to get into the swing of bringing the house on Gipton Wood Crescent up to scratch and this meant attacking the heating. … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – On With the Improvements – Bringing a Pre-War Semi-Detached House into the 1960s and 70s! Coin slot TVs, Fitted Carpets, Central Heating. How Thoroughly Modern!
A few weeks ago I was remembering how my father had modernised our house and so many other aspects of our lives have changed during my lifetime. My Grandma’s house, … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – Ch,Ch,Ch,Changes, Heating, Bath Time, Laundry and the Coming of Mod Cons in the late 1950s! My Grandma’s in Chapel Allerton.
I believe that school dinners were first introduced into the UK in 1906, but not all local councils provided them. When I attended primary school in the late 1950s, Harehills … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – School Dinners – Harehills County Primary and Roundhay School. Treacle Sponge, Manchester Tart, Spotted Dick, Jam Roly-Poly – the origins of our hardening arteries!
For some reason colour seemed to come in to my life at the start of the 1960s. Apart from the dabbling with some dreadful wallpaper and curtains, before returning to … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – Fashion – How Fancy We Thought We Were in the 1960s and 1970s. Boodle-Am, Loons, Afghan Coats, Clogs and Budgie Jackets.
In a surprisingly short period of time the homes that we live in have undergone quite major changes. My parents’ first house was in Lawrence Avenue and I imagine it … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – The Changing Home – Years of Modernisation, Technological Advances and Some Truly Dreadful Decorating Fads.
As a youngster I had gone with my older brother to watch the matinees at the Clock Cinema. The cinema was an impressive building and had an art deco feel … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – Adolescence, Freedom, Cinemas, Courting and Snogging -1960s and 1970s. The Clock Cinema – What a Place to Watch and Not Watch Films.
From, probably, the fifth form at Roundhay School I extended my nights out from just the Chained Bull, and Phoenix Bar at Roundhay Mansion to later nights out in Leeds … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – Leeds Nightlife, Pubs, Cinderella Rockerfella’s, the Hoffbrauhaus, Intime and Leeds Colleges
Scarborough has a firm place in my heart as the town has made me welcome at various stages of my life. As the largest of the Yorkshire resorts it was … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – Scarborough- More than Just the Beach and the Front. History, Culture and Punch and Judy!
I am never sure what I am going to write about until I have actually started and often the tale ends up very different from the one that I intended. … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – Roundhay Park, Leeds – Part of My History and a Glorious Gem of a Place!
