This tale tells the author's story in the context of English history, from the nineteenth century to the present day. Born to an ordinary hard-working family which could trace its origins back to 11th century Ireland, Terence Kearey emerged from a wartime Home Counties childhood to enter the world of work at a time of upheaval, technological revolution and trade union militancy. The women in his life helped to shape it, carrying him through the trials of family life, many economic ups and downs and the occasional disaster. Now retired and at peace, Terence can look back peacefully on a turbulent, but mainly happy, seven decades.