A NEW book by Silhillian Shirley Thompson captures a family saga centered around Balsall Heath.
The launch of the new offering, 65 Brunswick Road, is being held on October 7 (Saturday) at WH Smith in Mell Square, Solihull from 10am to 2pm.
And BBC actor and comedian Don Maclean, who has made contributions and written a foreword for the book, will be welcoming shoppers alongside Shirley during the launch.
The book tells the story of five families, spanning the 18th century to the present day, in the unique format of a musical play.
Shirley said: “This is a book which I have wanted to write for many years – then finally found the time to do it! The three main characters are my grandmother, Lilian Wareing, my father, Harry Wareing and his younger sister, Madge.
“Grandmother Lilian was exceptionally gifted musically and she could play a piece of popular music once from the manuscript, then replay it a second time entirely from memory! Several of the cousins, myself included, have inherited Lilian’s musical gene – hence the idea of presenting this as a show.”
The songs in the book are Shirley’s own, presented alongside a collection of original photographs and documents.
And the author already has several books under her belt including a collection of biographies of the region’s celebrities.
Among the colourful characters captured by Shirley are wrestler turned film and television actor Pat Roach, Handworth’s Kash ‘the Flash’ Gill – the first UK Asian World Champion in a contact sport – and Birmingham club owner Eddie Fewtrell.
The former teacher published her first novel Adrift in Paradise in 2009. She also co-wrote a children’s book The Power of the Pendant with ten-year-old Cerys Stansfield who features as a main character in the book which topped best seller lists at Borders and Waterstones.
All her works, to date, have been published by Brewin Books, based in Studley.
