The life and times of an English baby boomer

His parents were appalled. His beloved grandmother, however, thought he looked wonderful.

It was typical of the woman and a happy memory of Neil’s life-long association with Lodsworth, home to his maternal grandparents.

Neil recalls it all in his new book An English Baby Boomer: My Life and Times, available on Amazon and through the Lodsworth Larder.

Neil describes the volume as a personal romp through the second half of the 20th century, autobiography blending with social history, jokes, poetry, travel and much else.

His point is to chart just how hugely his world - and our world - has changed. A baby-boomer, he was born in 1947, arriving at a time when Britain had an empire; at a time when his father, like men up and down the country, would never leave the house without a hat.

Small wonder the parental reaction to Neil’s brief hippydom was so curt - though not so from Gawky, Neil’s own name from his grandmother, a corruption of the Zulu word for grandmother he picked up in his very earliest years.

“I was born in South Africa, but West Sussex is the root of my story. My grandparents moved to Lodsworth in 1926. My grandfather had gone through the first world war. He had been an international polo player. He played polo for England, and he was one of the best polo players there had ever been. He became friendly with Lord Cowdray, and they started going to polo together.”