Back in July I reviewed and enjoyed Martyn Johnson's first book What's Tha Up To?, you can read my thoughts here. My review was spotted by Emma from Martyn's publisher; Pen And Sword Books and she kindly sent me a copy of his second memoir What's Tha Up To Nah? for review.
What's Tha Up To Nah? is not a sequel or a follow on from Martyn Johnson's first book, but more stories from the same era.
Yet again his humour and compassion for other people and his love for the city of Sheffield shine through each story.
Martyn Johnson is a born story teller and the reader is soon captured up and taken back to the days of the bobby on the beat, police boxes, a clip round the ear and respect for the local copper.
Like his first book, this one contains some incredibly funny stories and some extremely sad and heart breaking recollections too.
From dealing with the death of a small boy who has been run over to the suspected shoplifter with a pocket full of combs, Martyn Johnson could adjust himself to any situation, handling each one with care and sympathy, and sometimes with the back of his hand!
The city of Sheffield and it's people are the main stars of his stories and whilst the city may have changed dramatically since the days that Martyn walked the beat, the people and the humour are still there.
I hope that Martyn Johnson has more stories to tell and that he will continue to share them with readers for a few more books yet.
Sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy memoirs that give us a slice of our social history.
carol