I feel as if I know the author and her family after reading this. What fantastic powers of recall she has, and I feel almost as if I’ve lived her life as she’s recounted it. I certainly saw it all in my mind’s eye as if I’d been there. A certain amount of it from the late fifties on is familiar from my own memories (I share an alarming number of decades with her). However, what is most refreshing is to have it all recounted by someone with such acute powers of observation and such an astute ability to assess the significance of what she was seeing, alongside the purely personal memories. It’s a truly valuable overview of twentieth century history and social history, and so much more valuable for being from the viewpoint of a down to earth ‘real’ person who lived through such varied and difficult times at the sharp end, where the wool wasn’t so easily pulled over the eyes. We can’t have too many of this type of account, but in fact they are fewer and further between than they should be, and I don’t think it is too much of an overstatement to say that this is an invaluable contribution to the nation’s archives.
It was a truly inspired moment when Jean decided to write these memoirs to accompany her already extraordinary embroidery. I wonder how many other people in the past could have regaled us with similarly rich, varied and insightful stories, but never managed to acquire the confidence and self belief this lady has fought for and won. She so deserved to find the fulfilment and happiness in her later years that she did find, not least because she has the capacity to recognise it!
Above all, that embroidery, accomplished in such a relatively short time, and designed with such consummate economy and vision, is the real star of the show.
A last word however must be saved for the superb quality of the book’s production by its publisher, which makes it a delight to hold and read and proves beyond all doubt that nothing can ever replace the pleasure of holding a ‘real’ book in one’s hands, and turning real pages with keen anticipation.

Hello Sara, Thank you for your message. As always, it never does me any harm to have a bit of praise. I have always thought that praise is the finest fuel for the fire that is within us all. Throughout my life I have found great pleasure in holding a book but never thought I would actually finish writing one but I did. The girl and I are amazed at the amount of interest that is being shown in our work. This is due no doubt to the work that has been done, and is still on going, at Icon Books. We got there in the end.
All the best,
Jean

Thank you, Jean! I was born in Leeds in the early 50s and many of your childhood memories brought back memories of my own.
Were we more resilient than young folk today? I know I was happier than many of them are, with their constant need for things to own and to be entertained.
You have fulfilled a dream of my own that, sadly, is unlikely now to become reality. I had planned to spend my retirement years embroidering and aplique working a beadspread with childhood memories in picture form. I spent years squirreling away thread and fabrics, bought in shops many of which are now closed. Now that retirement is just round the corner my eye sight has begun to fail rapidly. But I’ve enjoyed borrowing memories from you, reading your book and viewing your circles with a magnifier and am so glad that you took the time to memorialise the way of life of ordinary people. I love history, but want to know what people ate, how they earned their living and how they kept house or played. All those endless war campaigns and political wranglings always bored me in school. I will never forget my grammar school history teacher yelling at me, ‘You would have been of no consequence what so ever!’ when I asked what a girl of my age would have been doing in Tudor times, given that girls’ schools didn’t exist. How easily he could have put me off history forever. Even then, I had more sense than he and realised that it is ordinary people that put others in positions of power and, without ‘the likes of us’ there would be no history to record.

I work in various schools in the Midlands, mainly around West Bromwich area so was interested to read this book. Last night I read the story about the 14 year old ARP messenger, Charity Bick. Today, whilst waiting to be let into my afternoon school, I spotted a blue plaque on the outside wall which I had seen many times but had made no sense to me. “In honour of Charity Bick, ARP messenger who was a pupil at this school”, Lyng Primary in West Bromwich.
Amazing! I’ll take in a copy of the book next week to show the children and staff.