Diary of a Toe Rag

More than 28,000 innocent people murdered, homes reduced to rubble. Time to escape from bombed-out London to a land of greenery and opportunity, brand-new houses, social harmony and who knows what? No one did, back then.Oh, and a bit of routine sexism, racism, a touch of pilfering and vandalism, no phones, cars or TV, ruinous debt, a deadly diet, a dose of religion, true love aged 11 and lots of other stuff.That's Harlesden to Hemel Hempstead for you. Or at least it was...Diary of a Toe Rag was inspired by the inquisitiveness of the author's grandchildren, along with the chance to introduce the only man who knew everything in the whole world. Granda.It starts in 1950 and ends in 1962, a parcel of social history delivered as a childhood autobiography.

Steve Riches has been a journalist for 50 years, most of them working on London-based national newspapers and magazines for News International and Mirror Group. He left Hemel Hempstead in the early 70s, having served his apprenticeship on the local Gazette, and lives in Kent with his wife of 40 years, Stena.This is his first book, probably his last, and the only thing he's ever written without being paid.

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