Widower Reg needs work to bring up his ten year old son George but there's not much of that in what was the Durham coalfield in the 1990s. His only chance is to look after a greyhound and enter the murky world of betting at a 'flapping track'. Told in local dialect, this book is an affectionate portrait of a lost community which delivers a simultaneously gritty and heart-warming read.
And his smile only grew when he read the first of me dad's references: this typewritten page from five year back that was packed with praise .... 'Reginald is an impeccable timekeeper who respects authority,' he beamed as he read it out; but his face fell when he seen the second letter. Shoulda been headed with me dad's auld school crest; but instead there was the logo of the bank. Red to match the ink that run across the page as me dad rasped, 'Help me!'
