Now I like the way that stories come together, and this one has it all.
Just a few days ago I ran a story of one of favourite guide books to London which was published in Penguin in 1966 and was a quirky account of London by Mr Ian Nairn.*
I came across my copy, here in Manchester in a second hand book shop and fell on it because it described the south east London I knew as a child.
What I was not expecting was for Jacky Debling to get in touch, and ask me if I knew whether there was in the book a picture of her dad who with her uncle ran a stall in Peckham.
I went back to the book found a picture which might be the one and sent it down and the rest is one of those stories best told by Jacky.
“There is a story behind these photos - you may be interested or you may not - but to me it’s quite extraordinary.
Back in 1966 at the Elephant & Castle shopping centre we (Mum, Billy and me) were in WH Smith. Mum showed us a book that had a photo of Dad on his stall/barrow in Rye Lane Peckham.
The book was a London Guide book. She didn’t buy the book at the time as she couldn’t afford it (I’ve since seen it cost eight shillings and sixpence).
For years afterwards we spoke about the book and we tried hard to track it down, trawling Libraries and various Peckham Facebook groups and Pinterest.
A few days ago a post popped up this Facebook page (posted by Andrew Simpson) about a book written in 1963, published in 1966 - it was a guide book about London and mentioned Rye Lane.
So - worth an ask I thought! And what a surprise I got when Andrew Simpson replied including a photo - and it was only THE photo!
The book was republished 2014 and I was able to get a copy from Amazon!
So there you go Dad (Billy Buster Ellner) - on your 10th Anniversary up you pop! And I know it would make you smile 😍 xx
For those interested I’ve included a photo of what Ian Nairn wrote about Rye Lane in 1963 - I wonder what he would make of it today!"
And I have to agree with Jacky and wonder what her dad and for that matter my mum and dad would make of the place today.
Which just leaves me to credit Mr Nairn and look for the present publishers and tell them of the story.
The book has now been reissued in the Penguin Modern Classics series.
Location; Peckham
Picture; cover of Nair’s London, Ian Nairn and Jacky's dad, from Nairn's London, 1966
*“unquenchable vitality has pulsed through it for ninety years” ........ walking down Rye Lane in the summer of 1963 or how others saw us, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2015/08/unquenchable-vitality-has-pulsed.html
I came across my copy, here in Manchester in a second hand book shop and fell on it because it described the south east London I knew as a child.
What I was not expecting was for Jacky Debling to get in touch, and ask me if I knew whether there was in the book a picture of her dad who with her uncle ran a stall in Peckham.
I went back to the book found a picture which might be the one and sent it down and the rest is one of those stories best told by Jacky.
“There is a story behind these photos - you may be interested or you may not - but to me it’s quite extraordinary.
The book was a London Guide book. She didn’t buy the book at the time as she couldn’t afford it (I’ve since seen it cost eight shillings and sixpence).
For years afterwards we spoke about the book and we tried hard to track it down, trawling Libraries and various Peckham Facebook groups and Pinterest.
A few days ago a post popped up this Facebook page (posted by Andrew Simpson) about a book written in 1963, published in 1966 - it was a guide book about London and mentioned Rye Lane.
So - worth an ask I thought! And what a surprise I got when Andrew Simpson replied including a photo - and it was only THE photo!
So there you go Dad (Billy Buster Ellner) - on your 10th Anniversary up you pop! And I know it would make you smile 😍 xx
For those interested I’ve included a photo of what Ian Nairn wrote about Rye Lane in 1963 - I wonder what he would make of it today!"
And I have to agree with Jacky and wonder what her dad and for that matter my mum and dad would make of the place today.
Which just leaves me to credit Mr Nairn and look for the present publishers and tell them of the story.
The book has now been reissued in the Penguin Modern Classics series.
Location; Peckham
Picture; cover of Nair’s London, Ian Nairn and Jacky's dad, from Nairn's London, 1966
*“unquenchable vitality has pulsed through it for ninety years” ........ walking down Rye Lane in the summer of 1963 or how others saw us, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2015/08/unquenchable-vitality-has-pulsed.html
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