This is a delightful book which spans the whole of Bell’s life. Born in 1910 Bell rambles anecdotally across the different periods of his life, going into detail on occasion into an era which is long gone and evoking a real feel for those times.
He began his life in Grisdale, but also spent time in Leeds as a young man helping in a wet fish shop and going to the football there, running a mobile shop when in Sedbergh and lived for a time in Kendal as caretaker of the Museum. He covers his school years and his time in the Army. He describes many aspects of the farming year in Grisdale as he experienced it then. Perhaps the most important thread for Bell in his life was his role as a Methodist lay preacher and this emerges throughout the book.
This is a book you can dip in and out of and learn a lot about the past and the history of this area.
Garsdale Parish Council 