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www.ilkestonlife.com ILKESTON LIFE September 2021 2

Local From the Library shelves This book is
Independent It’s our by A Borrower borrow from
available to
sixth
Fresh birthday! Ilkeston
Public
Entertaining Thank you Lean Fall Stand Jon McGregor Library
to all who
If you don’t get a copy through help make When the storm came in, it of Antarctica and they are relying Once the couple are back in
your door, Ilkeston Life is available Ilkeston to some extent on the old hand, England McGregor introduces the
online and from various outlets Life hap- was unexpected and Thomas
including newsagents, shops, cafes, pen every Myers was dropped to his Doc Wright, who has been in the reader to life after a stroke; the
post offices, supermarkets and knees. field for more than thirty years. possible stages of recovery and
libraries in our growing circulation month. Doc had the experience to do the what help and support might be
area. Besides Ilkeston, we are cur- Jon McGregor’s novel begins in a right thing. available. What emerges is just
rently supplying many surround- Writers, photographers, promisingly dramatic way. Myers how tentative every glimmer of
ing towns and villages: artists, poets, correspondents, is one of a party of three men When the storm hits they are out progress is and what a tremendous
We also give free copies to Ilkeston technical support, buyers, who have been dropped at Station on a private excursion to take
Hospital, nursing and care homes, sellees, advertisers, helpers, K in Antarctica to do some GPS some photographs and, breaking struggle it will be for all involved.
doctors waiting rooms, schools, surveying and carry out routine the rules, Doc has left the two Anna will fight to hold on to her
etc. and mail out copies to sub- ambassadors, fund raisers, maintenance on the base. Thomas younger men while he climbs a university post which means so
scribers. subscribers, encouragers, nearby peak to give some perspec- much to her while performing the
We are grateful to our many door to door deliverers, etc. Myers and Luke Adebayo are the tive to the shots. Within minutes repetitive and physically demand-
correspondents and out volun- novices. It is their first experience ing tasks of caring for an adult
teers for their help in fund raising, they are all in trouble. The two man as if he were a baby.
distributing the paper and raising Continuing last month’s blast from the past, here is the second part younger men become separated
awareness of it. of the late Jim Sumner’s recollection from his early schooldays at from one another and Doc loses So, although there is hardship,
Heanor Grammar. If you missed part one, he told how the wood- radio contact with both of them. struggle and heroism in this story
work teacher had given him a hard time and he was dreading coming The ingredients are there for a it is not of the kind we might have
Editorial office: 1 Bath Street, back to face him again after the holiday. But a lovely surprise - ‘a novel of adventure where the been expecting from the opening
chapters. However, McGregor
Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 8AH small miracle’ as he put it - awaited him. men and their relationships will fails to involve us sufficiently
Tel. 07539 808390 Read on as Jim remembers what happened... be tested against the dangerous with his characters to make this
conditions. Then the story takes
Editor-in-chief: Paul Opiah an unexpected turn. Doc is trying kind of heroism hold our atten-
Editor: Robert Attewell to speak to Thomas on the radio tion and sympathy. The author
news@ilkestonlife.com seemed to be setting up a moral
Staff reporter: Rod Malcolm when . . Something sharp struck struggle between Anna’s role as
Staff feature writer: Patricia Spencer him on the back of the neck and
Staff photographer: John Shelton he went down fast. He makes it a wife and her need to fulfil her
john@ilkestonlife.com own ambitions but this theme
Advertising: Christine Chell back to base but struggles to act. fizzles out apart from a few bitter
sales@ilkestonlife.com Words are playing tricks on him: remarks she makes to her friend.
Reporter: Rod Malcolm
rodmalcolm@ilkestonlife.com He floored the numb faceness Their children are introduced,
Distribution: Paul Opiah of his raw. No. Rawed the rub. adults with their own problems,
paul@ilkestonlife.com The rum, The nub. but they remain shadowy figures
Webmaster: Adam Newton on the periphery of the action. And
adam@ilkestonlife.com We realise that Doc has had some Doc himself remains the taciturn,
kind of stroke and is unable to take
© Copyright 2021 the steps necessary to summon somewhat enigmatic figure who
The material in Ilkeston Life is pro- baffled the two younger expedition
tected by copyright. If you wish to help. This is where the conven- members in the opening sequenc-
reproduce anything, please contact the tional adventure story ends. es.
editor. The effects of stroke include
While every care is taken to be accu- There is therefore some (unintend-
rate, we are only human and mistakes language impairments, re- ed?) irony in that the latter part of
do occur occasionally. If you are duced mobility, difficulties the novel is taken over by accounts
unhappy with any of the content in the with swallowing and cognitive
paper, please contact the editor in the of the meetings of the aphasia
first place. deficits. group which Doc reluctantly
We accept news and information from Doc has suffered all of these. The attends. The group is exploring al-
correspondents in good faith and narrative now follows his journey ternative ways of expression when
cannot be held responsible for inaccu-
racies. We try not to include stories through the stages of treatment and conventional language fails. It is
which may cause distress to anyone. If his struggle to re-gain something interesting to read about the meth-
you have a view on any of the articles, of his former life and powers. ods used here but again it intro-
please write and let us know. At this point McGregor introduces duces lots of new characters at the
Your letters are always welcome, but expense of the central figures and
we reserve the right to withhold or a new thread into the narrative.
edit. Anonymous letters will only be Doc’s wife, Anna, is contacted and the space given to these meetings
printed in exceptional circumstances. flies out to Santiago where Doc eclipses other issues.
If sending photographs, we prefer While Doc and his family are
them in jpeg format. has been hospitalized. We have coming to terms with their refig-
COPY DEADLINE: 22nd. already learned that in the many ured lives an enquiry is in progress
years of their marriage Doc has
Our print date is usually the first as to exactly what happened at
Thursday of the month. Delivery from mostly been away on expeditions
our printers to Ilkeston is the following leaving Anna to bring up their two Station K on that day. Questions
day. So the paper comes out on the children and make an independent are being asked about Doc’s fail-
first Friday of the month. life for herself. It has not been ure to act. However, having raised
The deadline for both adverts and easy for her but now the two chil- the anxiety levels, the author then
editorial is always the 22nd for the fol-
lowing month’s paper, unless by prior dren are grown up she is re-estab- turns away yet again from the
arrangement. (So, for example, 22nd lishing her own life and academic drama.
January for the February issue.) Send career. In the next few days she For this reader Lean Fall Stand
to us by email if possible. We prefer learns the extent of the damage
to receive images as jpegs. We do not was a disappointment because it
print discourteous letters or articles. done to her husband and realises seemed to keep changing focus
All articles and adverts should comply that it has been assumed that she and failed to fully dramatize and
with the style and standards of the will care for him at home as soon engage us with the human weak-
paper. We reserve the right to refuse as he is discharged from hospital. nesses and conflicts it introduced.
or edit.
The best way to get your article in the She tells her friend, Bridget, that However, the author Maggie
paper is to make it easy for us. For this is not a role she wants to take. O’Farrell thought it was: A spec-
instance, when we are approaching a I don’t know if I want him to tacular book …It does what Jon
deadline, an emailed ready-to-use arti- come home. At this point it seems McGregor does so well: examine
cle will always take preference over an
article on paper that we have to key in. The above was taken from Ilkeston Life magazine, the forerunner of that this conflict between Anna’s the widening ripples of a single
Email us: news@ilkestonlife.com Ilkeston Life newspaper, December 2013. Jim Sumner was a regular needs and those of her husband event. So, try it for yourself and
contributor of stories wirtten in Ilkeston dialect. will become the focus of the novel. see what you think!