Reeling Back the Years

Bound by a shared love for the outdoors and fishing, this book is a testament to enduring friendships and the countless laughs that come with them. Dive into a world where the weight of everyday anxieties lifts and is replaced by light-hearted tales and memories.

While the backdrop might often be fishing, this narrative isn’t about the catch. It’s about how shared passions shape bonds and how humour becomes life’s most treasured anchor. It’s a reminder to find joy in the little things and never let life weigh too heavily on your shoulders.

Whether you’re tickled by quirky tales, or find mirth in the mundane, this collection of escapades – from Irish adventures to misadventures on boat trips – is bound to resonate. Settle in with a warm drink and let these stories reel you into a world of laughter and camaraderie.

Recollections

I was born a girl and to my parents, it only meant one thing; I would be a servant to my siblings, husband, dad, in-laws and any other person who crossed my path in life. The happiness of my husband, children, family and extended family was important. I would be a cook, housemaid, sexual object to my husband, a mother, a nurse and all the commitments that come from being a servant wife.

Learning respect and obeying was why I was sent to a convent for my schooling. My brothers were more important than me and when the time came I was prevented from becoming a teacher because I was a girl and that would not be my role in life. I was made to believe that my happiness was not important, only the happiness of others. My mum had been my role model and I firmly believed all that rubbish until my husband died. I was finally out of the cage and into a future of freedom and possibilities. To be able to learn who I was and what I liked. Finally, I was able to think of myself.

My life from the age of two has been a huge rollercoaster and one that I never got the chance to get off until I was 64. I have kept a lot of my experiences to myself as I believed them to be my fault. I yearned for someone to love me and not abuse me and to be my friend and my confidant. The only unconditional love I ever got was from my two boys (my dogs Max and Sam) who left me when they were 16. I cherish and feel blessed by my two wonderful children’s love but it’s not the same.

Recollections

Recollections takes you on a roller coaster tour of emotion, from darker subjects detailing the struggles of those marred by conflict and personal battles, to a light and humorous tone arising from everyday observations of life, which will resonate with all who read them.

Some of the poems address very personal challenges and will transport the reader into the lives of those struggling to cope with the emotional issues they face.

Readers who have experienced similar emotional journeys will recognise the battles that the topics encapsulate. Others address the lighter side of topics such as ageing.

Many of the poems are based on deeply emotional experiences and demonstrate the huge diversity of human emotion. Some will bring tears to your eyes, whilst others may result in a wry smile.

Re-Hab Is For Quitters

This is a collection of events, happenings and scrapes that have taken place over the years of my travelling, making music and by living life to the full. It’s an example of what
can happen to you if you just head out there and go for it. It’s not all good times, there have been plenty of heartbreaks and great losses, and I’ve tried not to shy away from the pain and grief that it brings, but more often than not it has been the greatest fun imaginable and I hope it will encourage a few of you to get out there, be fearless and live your lives, carrying with you a big smile and a heart full of love…
Fitch xxx

Raising Seven

How would you feel if a complete stranger approached you and revealed a secret only you knew? And then said, “You need to get moving on it.” After this encounter in 2009, I knew I had to start writing my memoir and Raising Seven was born.

Our five sons came first and then there were the years of longing and praying for those evasive daughters. I did hear from God during those years that He would fulfil my heart’s desire. He just did not tell me when.

My husband, Al, passed away during the writing of our story. The memoir covers our first meeting in 1966 at the beach town in Lavallette, New Jersey, to the present.

Having seven children was not popular then, or even now. For Al and I thought, this was a blessing not a curse. With the help of scripture, faith in God, the encouragement of family and friends, those years for us became years of joy. The happiness, adventures, pitfalls and struggles of our rambunctious family of seven is the heartbeat of this book.

Prove It All Night

Can there be anything more uplifting than a great rock concert?

A concert where words like brilliant, fantastic, superb, amazing and incredible can never do it justice. They don’t even come close.

If you are blessed to have seen that one special gig that actually changed your life, a gig that you wished had never come to an end, then maybe, just maybe, you’ve been in the presence of greatness.

A night to remember that will never fade from your memory, however long you live. It’s as fresh today as it was all those years ago. It was a rock and roll epiphany.

Post Traumatic Stress And Disorderly

Post Traumatic Stress and Disorderly is one man’s story growing up in Liverpool UK and his fight with the mental health condition PTSD, manifested by multiple horrific ordeals.

Symptoms first surfaced as a young teenager after being targeted by the notorious Liverpool Bogeyman during the eighties, stalked and bullied until a violent confrontation was the only way out of the harrowing situation, thus becoming the catalyst for the debilitating mental state.

His ordeal included witnessing three murders (including two in a double gangland execution of friends in his family run health club in the nineties) the investigation, the suspicion of his involvement by the police, the court cases as a pivotal witness, the wearing of a bullet proof vest and self-prescribed remedies of cocaine and alcohol to escape the torturing images embedded into his now fragile mindset. These remedies were just as destructive, helping the demise to an already crumbling psyche. This book is a brutally honest account of one man’s failings to some degree successes in his elusive search for a more stable peace of mind.

But it didn’t stop there. Bolstering the attacks of PTSD, he experienced a car bomb attack to kill and destroy, a near psychotic encounter with a global superstar, incarceration to HMP Liverpool, a near fatal stabbing on a family holiday, right up to the experiences of losing both parents within fifteen months of each other, one to the pandemic in 2020, and the tragic premature loss of his oldest brother shortly after.

This is an account of creating antidotes for better mental health, finally accumulating into a formula of stability that the mental health professionals failed to provide. Like the ups and downs of a vast mountain range Post Traumatic Stress and Disorderly will take you down to the caverns of despair, soaring to the peaks of personal achievement, in a war the author has had with himself.

Portraits of Potters Bar

As the title shows, it has two main subjects: WWII and Potters Bar – which is my hometown, almost but not quite a suburb of London. The global public already has extensive knowledge of WWII, yet the same cannot be said of Potters Bar. Outside Britain, there are probably no more than a few thousand people who have even heard of it. But for me it was the hub of the universe as I grew up – passing through childhood, then adolescence, eventually teetering on the brink of adulthood.Not just battles and air-raids, victories and defeats – the hard stuff of war – all that’s common knowledge. But – the things we did against that ever-present background. At home, at school, as we started out in jobs. Falling in love – and out of it! In short, the way we lived our everyday lives and yes, in spite of continuous tragic realities, the fun we had – tremendous fun at times. My memories are still extremely vivid – albeit many of them a child’s eye view. Read all about it!

Plumbers at Work

These are some of the funny antics and things including comedy situations that I found myself in with the two plumbers who were to train and instruct me in the ways of plumbing.I must admit, I had never laughed so much in my life.I was sorry when my apprenticeship finished as it was one long laugh, from morning to night.

Please I Can to the Toilet Go?

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a supply teacher? This is the book for you! Artist and illustrator Guy Newmountain, a time-served teacher at the chalk-face for 25 years and a familiar sight to thousands of pupils across the spectrum from nursery to sixth form, tells a succession of school-related anecdotes with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humour. Some are hysterically funny and a few sad; others heart-stopping and deadly serious…Guy even bares his soul regarding personal heartbreak and professional mistakes that others can learn from. An evocative snapshot of real life, every word, even the title – spoken by a tiny infant – is true. A powerful insight into how varied an experience supply teaching can be, the book covers both pros and cons of the vocation, as the author relates a host of unpredictable situations encountered – good and bad – offering a tantalising, honest and refreshing window onto a largely hidden world…

Peter Wyngarde: A Life Amongst Strangers

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, THE LIFE STORY OF ONE OF THE GREAT TELEVISION AND STYLE ICONS Peter Wyngarde: the name elicits memories of an actor with worldwide renown and instantly adhesive star quality, who was to hit his professional zenith via his starring roles in the smash hit TV series, Department S, and its equally successful spin-off, Jason King. However, when this imperial phase of his career took a downturn during the mid-1970s, he stoically dusted himself off and returned to the theatre--the scene of so many of his earliest triumphs. There he enjoyed continued success until a late-period revival came with the role of General Klytus in the 1980 blockbuster, Flash Gordon. Ordinarily, this book would end there. The fact that it doesn't reveals an unusual dichotomy: it splits Wyngarde's life into two, almost equal, parts. From the late 1980s, the author came into his orbit as the long yearned-for, missing piece of the puzzle: namely a strong, dependable sounding board and, increasingly, his soulmate. To those who have been content to view Wyngarde as a two-dimensional figure on a TV screen, or merely as the subject of media gossip, this book will come as a revelation--and no doubt a startling one, as it will shatter many long-held myths and preconceptions. And yet in spite of her closeness to the subject, the author has refused to place him on a pedestal: her exploration of his life and career is as honest as it is eye-opening. While she does not shy away from Wyngarde's more difficult characteristics and painful life experiences, the thread running through the book is a story of love and devotion that is deeply touching and ultimately heart-wrenching. "This is an intimate biography that is elegantly crafted, intensively researched, and presented with the utmost honour." Steven Berkoff

Perfection Is NOT the Word for It

Orchestral life in Britain is thriving and anarchic, in turns chaotic, hilarious and brutal. Perfection Is Not the Word for It is a personal, and mostly affectionate, account of life amongst the extraordinary characters who lead their over-stressed lives in this unusual world, surrounded by music but driven by everyday anxieties, and always defying the best efforts of administrators, bureaucrats and conductors to tame the unruly beast which is a professional orchestra.