The landscape of my childhood was a small town
in the Black Country called The Lye, a haphazard collection of narrow streets
and small houses which had grown up more or less at random during the industrialisation
of the area in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A severe redevelopment
scheme in the sixties swept away a great deal of its character but I'm happy
that I grew up in the place before it changed so much.
It was inevitable that the current fashion for books of old photographs
of one town or another should eventually reach The Lye, and Sutton Publishing
Ltd have produced a fine collection "Lye and Wollescote - The Photographic
Collection" which not only reproduces some of my father's photos but
has a nice picture of him too. The book is by Denys Brooks (sadly now deceased)
and Pat Dunn, and the ISBN is 0750933550. I heartily recommend it to you.
Over the years I have written here and there about various obscure aspects
of The Lye as I knew it. I hope to make some of my musings accessible on
this site. Here is what you can see so far:
The Temp Cinema
There are also my Dad's memoirs for you to read.
BACK to Pigs Can Fly
October 1st 2010