I wrote this book in the Pen name Billy Ping for reasons explained in the text and Billy soon became an alter ego that gave me a freedom to write in a way that the real me might not have done. The finished article is an often cheerful account of the lives of a working-class family from Stepney in the East End of London. The central character is my little Mum Jean who was a child evacuee in the Blitz over London in World War2, she returned to London aged 14 on the request of her Mum to work with her big sister Jess in a Dutch shipping office in the City. My motivation to write the book comes from the considerable respect I have for my parent's generation, born in East London in the 1920's in near poverty, surviving and enduring a long harrowing war and facing the many challenges of life in the decades thereafter. This generation of Londoners moved on after the war to build 'normal' lives which 80 years later on reflection represents an extraordinary period of change and development compared to almost any other in history. They faced the hardships head on and enjoyed the good times in their East-ender ways with good humour, hard work and love of their family and community. The stories of Mum's family and their experiences tumble out constantly throughout the book and include my Dad's seven years active service in the Rifle Brigade including Tobruk and El Alamein in North Africa and Monte Cassino in Italy. Some grim first-hand accounts of the war are portrayed, not least the death of Dad's older brother from 'friendly fire' from a British submarine while captive in an Italian prisoner of war ship. The family's ancestors are traced with much mirth and some shocking revelations involving a possible bastard connection to the Royal Family. Both my grandads served in the First World War, Fred worked with the horses in the Royal Artillery in France and Arthur was in the Cavalry with the Royal Hussars. Both experienced the worst of trench warfare, were injured and went on to work in London's Docklands after the war. Both typical working class heroes in my mind. The book explores the language and expressions used by my family with its East London origins (Way beyond 'Cockney rhyming slang'). A little of the history of Stepney in Docklands highlights the diversity of the local community dating back to the arrival of the first foreign traders including the Jews and Chinese immigrants 'in the year dot.' Mum knew I was intending to write something about her generation but she died soon after I began the book. We discussed my ideas and she thought the book should aim to be of interest to people beyond the East End so I have taken it to the extreme with passages entitled 'Notes for folk from overseas' in which Billy Ping exploits the humorous side of trying to explain to a foreigner the language and customs of the modern-day Brit. Each Chapter has a section on 'Chats with Mum' in which Billy recounts the conversations about life and death and everything in between which I recorded on scraps of paper over the ten years before she died in 2015. The nonsense and trivia we discussed together with a drizzle of sense and sensibility gives a balance to the more serious parts of the book which is packed with facts and anecdotes about 'people' (Including those with 'celebrity' of the time); 'places' (Way beyond the East End); 'music' (Including a personal appearance with Val Doonican); and a multitude of 'Miscellany' such as holidays (Featuring a German family whose father had been a bomber pilot over London in the Blitz); food (Incorporating custard and The Barnsley Chop - not to be eaten together). The final chapter on 'Silly Things' ranges from sport to baldness, camping to fancy dress, how two people can wear the same pair of broken spectacles to 'the meaning of life' (In one short sentence) and much more.All writer's proceeds from the book will go directly to the 'BBC Children In Need' charity.