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.
One of the great joys of living in Yorkshire is how close you are to some of the most spectacular and varied countryside in the world. Leeds is little more … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – The Yorkshire Dales, Getting Out and About, Camping and the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
I have spoken in a previous tale about taking A Levels and I must admit that at the time, I had no idea what I wanted to be, or do … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – Final Year at High School, Leaving Home, Going to College and Growing Older if Not Wiser.
After my initial ventures into rock climbing, courtesy of borrowed equipment from my older brother, at the Cow and Calf and Hetchell Crags, I began to venture further afield. One … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – Further Heights in Rock Climbing Escapades. Almscliffe Crag and the Roundhay School Snowdonia Climbing Trip. Memories to Last a Lifetime!
There appeared to be two types of people at Roundhay School and they can be split into those who would cause their parents concern and those who wouldn’t. When adolescence … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ –The Serious End of High School, the Lower and Upper Sixth Forms, Going Co-Ed, a Shock for the Teachers and for Us. We were so Bad!
This has been the most globally traumatic year that I have ever experienced and I suppose it is a reminder of how fragile peace and tranquility is. For some reason … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – That Time of Year Again and Still Dreaming of a White Christmas. Are Your Memories of Family Madness, Like Mine?
My first knowledge of work comes from my mother’s accounts of her school days and moving into employment. My mother had an older sister, Joan, and she was a clever … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – The Changing World of Work. The Wray and Cameron Experience in 20th Century Leeds and Australia.
Last week’s blog about smog got me thinking about other changes since the 1950s in the way that people live and there are many things that we were allowed to … Continue reading ‘Cup of Tea Tales’ – How Did We Survive? Radium, Mercury, Lead, Asbestos, Sawdust, DDT – Things We Had That Aren’t Allowed Nowadays.
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.
