Up west : voices from the streets of post-war London

Do you remember the West End of London during the 1950s? Did you live or work there? If so, I want to hear from you ... This was the advertisement author Pip Granger placed in a local newspaper, and the response was immediate. Soon she was hearing from people who recalled what it was like when sweets were rationed; from families who'd been bombed out of their homes during the Blitz; from men who'd worked in the flower markets of Covent Garden; and from the son of a family of immigrants who'd opened one of the very first delicatessens in Soho. All had extraordinary stories to tell. Based on the author's own memories and dozens of interviews and written testimonies, Up West evokes a unique and vibrant community, and a way of life that is vanishing fast. London's West End has been the author's spiritual home. Taking us back to the 1950s, this title describes a vibrant part of London where working girls swung their keys on street corners, coffee bars throbbed to a rock and roll beat, and the scents and flavours of an expanding world swirled from restaurants and delicatessens The only daughter of alcoholic parents, novelist Pip Granger spent much of her childhood outside looking in.No strangers to the demon booze, her parents were deeply involved in a passionate relationship that rose to exciting highs and plunged to terrible and often frightening lows. Brave, funny and authentic, Alone is a heartbreaking memoir of growing up in 1950s London in a world of poverty, alcohol abuse, parental neglect and the courage of a little girl to find her way through the trouble-filled maze. Bestselling author Pip Granger remembers her childhood in a vibrant part of London where working girls swung their keys on street corners and coffee bars throbbed to the beat of rock and roll. Based on the author's own memories and dozens of interviews and written testimonies, this title evokes a fresh community, and a way of life that is vanishing fast.