From the author

      Michael J Darracott  

I found this book to be a very interesting read and it’s and insight into oil pollution and the book comes complete with a Cornish pasty recipe.

There now follows a synopsis of the book

Proper Cornish Childhood

                         ISBN NUMBER 978-1-906645-41-0           

A true story of a young 10 year old Cornish boy called Michael, who back in the late sixties watched from the Cornish cliff tops, while the huge Torrey Canyon oil tanker was being bombed. The tanker had become snagged on rocks on the Seven Stones Reef, and Michael saw the wreck being bombed. This was an amazing sight to Michaels eyes, it was like having an epic blockbuster movie being made right in front of him.  

Later in the book follow through Michaels eyes, the devastation it caused to Cornish beaches. Michael’s story starts when he was just 10 years old in 1966, and covers his familys wonderful early years living in Trereife Lodge, a small delightful cottage found a little way up Newlyn Coombe.

Michael, and his family enjoyed many family Christmas's in the cottage, and the trip once a year to see the Mousehole lights, was a highlight of their entire Christmas celebrations. 

Cornwall a land of myths legends and folktales, definitely filled young Michaels imagination, with pirate stories being one of his favourites. This book covers what it was like growing up in the late sixties, and how he enjoyed learning to cook in particular pasties with his mother. A skill that later allowed him to be one of the chefs in the world-renowned Lobster Pot hotel in Mousehole.  

He writes about the fishing trips to Trereife woods, hoping to catch the elusive Big one with his brother Peter, and of his love of the bird sanctuary in Mouse hole. Trips to lands End Marazion Newquay and Newlyn, and summers on the beach in St Ives to name just a few. Michael tells of his great love for all animals and how living in the Cornish countryside brought this about.  

Follow Michael and what he experienced from 1966 to 1967, and the way of life in Cornwall in the 1960s. Finally, follow his life in mainstream school and what that turned out to be like for him.