Book Description
Flick through the pages of one man's young life, 1906 to 1945, from the Shipyards of Barrow to the quiet glens of the Scottish Highlands. From there to the battle fields of France and on to Stalag XXA, across the hungry frozen plain of Poland and home to his young woman in Benderloch. This true-life story will bring a smile to your lips, a tear to your eye, and leave you deep in reflective thought.
From the Author
This book does not fit easily into any natural category. It is biographical, historical, romantic, humourous and analytical. It is not a war story yet the 2nd WW impacts heavily on the story line.
For anyone interested in the Stalags and POW life there is a detailed description of life in the camps and on the forced marches. In addition the book attempts to explore how these young men became prisoners and why they were forced through Hell in the last few months of the war.
But in essence it is a story of a quiet shepherd lad discovering himself and his origins, his love of music and his love for Christina, a shy Highland, MacKenzie lass.
Highland Schottische is a lively Scottish dance and this book skips like the dance itself across the years. From the birth of Ian Grieve Black in 1906 in Barrow-in-Furness to his home-coming from the war in 1945 all packed into 144 pages, this book is an entertaining short read.
Feel free to judge the book by its cover: the accordion, fiddle and poppies: bitter-sweet music.
For anyone interested in the Stalags and POW life there is a detailed description of life in the camps and on the forced marches. In addition the book attempts to explore how these young men became prisoners and why they were forced through Hell in the last few months of the war.
But in essence it is a story of a quiet shepherd lad discovering himself and his origins, his love of music and his love for Christina, a shy Highland, MacKenzie lass.
Highland Schottische is a lively Scottish dance and this book skips like the dance itself across the years. From the birth of Ian Grieve Black in 1906 in Barrow-in-Furness to his home-coming from the war in 1945 all packed into 144 pages, this book is an entertaining short read.
Feel free to judge the book by its cover: the accordion, fiddle and poppies: bitter-sweet music.
About the Author
Robert Grieve Black, son of the main character in the book, was born in 1948 in Glencoe in Argyllshire but spent most of his childhood on the other side of Scotland in Fife. Educated first at Dunfermline High School he later went to the University of Strathclyde where he earned an Honours Degree in Marketing. There followed about ten years in retail management until in 1986 he upped sticks and went with his wife and three young children to live in the Costa Brava in Catalonia. Robert and Catherine run an English Language School in the fishing town of Palamos.
