The Golden Mile: A Book of Poems

The Golden Mile is a book of poems but it is more than that: it is a love story. It speaks of one man's love first of his brave father who died, when the author was a teenager, of disabilities caused by his service in the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II and then of his own family. He dedicates the book to his late father's memory. He retraced his father's footsteps along the Golden Mile that leads up to Edinburgh Castle seventy years after he father did so during a break in hostilities. He writes about that movingly in the title piece in the collection. Most of us can point to a favourite song, place, scent or possession that triggers memories of a loved one who has, as Banjo Patterson describes, gone over the range. He introduces you to his own family one at a time. He calls Lesley, his wife, the mother of his three children and grandmother of their five grandchildren by the affectionate names of Madre, La Madre and the Contessa as well as her real name. Their adventures ar