Shout About Life by D. A. Shout Publisher: Melrose Books ISBN: 0-905226-30-6

Born in 1929, Dougie Shout is now in his mid-70s and has a loving wife, four grown-up daughters and eight grandchildren. Shout About Life provides a fascinating insight into the changing world of a typical northern English family over more than seven decades.

Shout About Life begins with reminiscences from the author’s childhood; the innocuous schoolboy pranks, the passion for bread and dripping at supper and the substandard fruit and veg that was so gratefully received. Living in an area that escaped most of the bombings, even the Second World War could not stop Dougie and his school friends from having a little fun. “One of the boys brought in a live bullet and we decided to fire it. We put it in a vice, secured it, got a nail punch and gave it a bang with a hammer, right on the spot where the firing pin would have struck. There was one hell of a bang and the bullet just missed my foot.”

After leaving school in 1943, young Dougie found work at the local grocers. His vivid memories of the shop, the warehouse and the goods evoke nostalgic images of a bygone era. But in 1947 he was conscripted into the army for two years of national service. Following basic training, he ends up in the Royal Army Medical Corps.

Shout soon resumes civilian life and is blessed with the joys of marriage, children and all the trials and tribulations of family life, some of which are more welcome than others.

This well-scripted autobiography evokes the atmosphere of each era and will prove a compelling read for everyone.