Cockney Sparrow

About the Book

The book travels through Sid's life from his birth in 1926 when he was born into a world of poverty, through returning from the second world war to find out that life had still not improved for the likes of him. Despite this he has always taken on life with a cheerful determined attitude, taking it as it came. Streetwise at eight years old and turning a penny or two he fought his way on to seventy eight through a series of adventures and travels. Then he decided to take on the world of computers and write this lively book.

He is not a well educated historian but a working man with a story to tell. He crosses paths with the rich, with politicians, and quite a few rogues. There is laughter and pain but Sid carries on as most Cockneys do with a juanty smile and a purposeful stride. Don't miss a book with a difference.

About the Author

I feel extremely privileged to have had the honour of appraising this manuscript prior to publishing. I can honestly say that few have impressed me as much as Sid's.

This work is valuable for two main reasons. Firstly, it is extremely interesting and Sid has a way of drawing the reader into his recollections, making the reader an intrinsic part of the work. Secondly, his memoir is a very valuable sociological record, documenting a period when life was immensely different and often very hard. The fact that Sid has lived so long and experienced so much makes his work stand out over and above other memoirs I have read.

I personally like his natural style of writing very much. He has chosen to tell his story in the written sense very much as he would have in the spoken and this results in an easily digestible piece from which readers will derive great enjoyment. It also serves to emphasize Sid's personality, which is, after all, a key aspect of his life story. Sid comes across as a sensible, honest, hard working and especially kind human being the sort of person any discerning reader would be happy to own as a friend. His attention to detail is very much in evidence through out the work and it is clear that he has an amazingly retentive memory. As a result of his intricately descriptive passages, a greater sense of realism is created. This enables the reader to believe he has seen the sights Sid has seen and allows him to perceive Sid's great variety of experiences. This heightened level of involvement also heightens the reader's enjoyment.

Also worthy of praise is the structure of his work which is sensible and which, again, makes the text easy to read and digest. He begins where it is wise to begin at his birth and though the circumstances of his childhood could have been easier, he regards this period with fondness rather than bitterness. Sid has lived through a very turbulent period and younger generations could learn much from the positive spirit of the people at this time. At seventy six he learnt to use a computer and transformed a hand written manuscript into this book, a superb achievement for someone who left school at fourteen.

I wish Sid good fortune with this book and some how I feel a film in the making.

Ken Davison