This weeks trio with the same number is different from last weeks in that it’s the later two that have the same artwork. This time it’s PAN 103 ‘The Avenging Saint’ by Leslie Charteris with the 1949 edition printed in France and having artwork by Stein while the 1951 is printed in the UK with artwork by John Pollack as does the 1952 edition but goes back to being printed in France.
I’ve started to read ‘Say I’m Sorry to Mother’ by Carol Dix with a cover by Jennifer Eachus. Although Dix wrote sixteen novels PAN appears to have only published this one which I picked up in a charity shop,. Since looking for other copies online I’m surprised at the prices being asked. Although the story revolves around four girls some of the stories resonate with me. Going to St Ives was something we did in the late 60s when we could drive and had acquired a Standard Vanguard with overdrive. Before then it was hitching around Ireland. When I was fifteen, and the start of the summer holidays, me and my mate Tavish walked to the end of the road and started hitching. After six weeks we had managed to go all around Ireland living on a large bag of oats, Cadbury’s chocolate, Major cigarettes and Guinness. We smoked ‘grass’ which could have actually been grass for all the affect we felt. We ran a hostel for a week when the warden dropped down dead in the pub .We had one change of clothes each and it was a good job those that picked us up, often a couple of friendly priests(!), couldn’t smell us before we got in the car. We had a tent or slept under the stars, in bus shelters or on beaches or if we wanted a bit of luxury, a youth hostel. We must have smelt a bit off as the daughter of one of the hostel wardens made us spend the day on the beach in our trunks while she washed and dried our clothes. We repeated this for the next two years but it was never quite the same again.
As I have mentioned before my other daily distraction, apart from PAN books, is helping to keep our local disused railway as a community asset, a greenway for all. It is not surfaced and is fine in the summer but in the winter it is something else. Since 2000 there have been promises of upgrading the surface to a proper walking/cycling route and making it part of NCN5. Well at last it is happening as part of a multi million pound scheme with, hopefully, the first of the three stages completed by March. We are also working on the Lichfield three mile section so, in the not too distant future, there will be a safe off road route between Walsall and Lichfield. The reason I mention this is that there are currently a lot of meetings happening so books are taking a back seat but hopefully not for too long. In the photo are representatives of the construction company, National Highways, SUSTRANS, the local council and me. Note the brand new spades just for the occasion!
