CONTENTS

Family Tree

Prologue

PART ONE 1918–1959

1 Sloe Gin

2 Mysteries Solved

3 Museum of Curiosities

4 Ted’s War

5 Deepest Darkest Devon

6 Mother Courage

7 Love Is the Devil

PART TWO 1959–1983

1 Pear Drops, Robots and Budgerigars

2 Peafucks and Roebucks

3 For Better, For Worse

4 Trunks, Kicks and Shoplifting

5 Dusk Over Fields

6 Aunt Clare’s Story

7 Two Slightly Distorted Guitars

8 Finding Beauty

9 Working Girl

PART THREE 1983–1999

1 Portobello

2 Necker Island Dreaming

3 Great Storms, Life and Death

4 Wannabe

5 Monument to the Midlife Crisis

6 And All the Men and Women Merely Players

PART FOUR 1999–2018

1 The Rose City

2 My Arab Spring

3 Neverland Found

List of Illustrations

My Little Devils

Note on the Author