The author is retired and came to writing late in life. Although he has lived his adult years in the South of England, this story however has North of England ethos, reflecting his upbringing and his spiritual home. The story, originally intended to entertain his grandchildren, is not seeking to inculcate any deep moral values but rather to amuse and perhaps even to encourage an occasional ‘kick against the pricks’ of conformity. He too was once an ‘Albert’.
Being a Lancastrian, I enjoyed Stanley Holloway’s ‘Albert and the Lion’ as a child and so resolved to attempt a monologue of my own. I chose the name Albert Ramsbottom in tribute to that earlier story, and my own tale is, in a manner of speaking, a sequel to it.A Visit to the Zoo is based upon...
Being a Lancastrian, I enjoyed Stanley Holloway’s Albert and the Lion as a child and so resolved to attempt monologues of my own, choosing the main character, Albert Ramsbottom in tribute to that earlier story. My first tale, A Visit to the Zoo is now being followed by Cats in which Albert retains...