Bill, who graduated from Loughborough with a PGCE in 1978 and an MPhil in 1983, was motivated to write the book when his dad had died and his mum, in her seventies, was gradually seeing family and friends passing away.
Bill regularly visited his mother on Saturday mornings and was fascinated by the life stories of her generation. He realised he knew very little about his own older family members’ life experiences, so resolved to capture his mother’s memories, while researching his father’s wartime experience in the army.
Over a ten-year period, he kept notes of the conversations he had with his mother and was overwhelmed by the diversity of material he had collected when he came to write the book after his mother passed away.
Bill comments:
“There was plenty of sadness and some horror in my parents’ lives, but their London East End humour was ever present. This combination is evident throughout the book as is mum’s love of her family and friends, not least the many children in her life.
“I felt strongly that she would have wanted me to dedicate any royalties to children’s charities, and the ‘BBC Children in Need’ event each year was a highlight for her. It is a charity serving a wide range of children’s needs across the UK and beyond and seemed a perfect choice.”
‘Blood, Sweat & Tears of Joy’ is published under the pen name Billy Ping and is available from Amazon.
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