Both Sides of the Fence

Historically, the ordinary people of Northern England were no strangers to poverty and deprivation. Faced with an economic downturn, their resilience, innovation and positive outlook invariably won through—and was largely achieved by sheer family cohesion. By contrast, genteel folk faced with a penury situation were unprotected from the realities of life and were usually too independent and proud to accept any form of charity. Crossing the geographical boundary to the great metropolis and beyond immediately opens up new vistas—a wider social mix, cultural, monetary, intellectual and academic. All were fair game to the ever-watchful eyes and ears of our intrepid juvenile observer, from the early thirties to the end of World War II. Throughout this period he had lived in ten different homes before finally reaching his present abode in a western suburb of London.