'Tales from the Allotments' is my favourite story that I have ever written from the 50+ books I've had published. It is suitable reading for any teenager and adult. Although set in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it is a timeless story that is just as relevant today as it was 150 years ago. It tells the story of a mining village where the local pit is the sole employer. The pit is closed down and the miners are made redundant. Many of the villagers move in search of new homes and jobs, but the families of 18 miners who own an allotment refuse to leave their homes and village. After months and years of unemployment, increased poverty and the onset of hopelessness, all 18 ex-miners begin to work their allotment plot which become their saviour and provides them with a new purpose in life as well as fresh produce for their family tables. My dearly deceased father, Paddy Forde was an ex-miner in West Yorkshire and I rededicate this story to his memory. This country owes a considerable debt to the coal miners. For generations they helped to put us at the forefront of the world's industrial stage. The coal they mined heated our homes, lit up our lives and fuelled the industrial furnaces of our manufacturing base. For over one hundred years, the coal miners of England, Scotland and Wales risked health, life and limbs to bring us the produce of their labour. In conditions of dirt and danger, they did their daily work with unstinting effort. The massive programme of pit closure since the 1980's heralded the decline of mining communities and the prominence of the coal miner as an occupation of the future. The legacy, which the coal miners left us, is not the wealth which they helped to create from the sweat of their labour, but the manner in which they conducted their lives then and ever since. From the depths of economic depression, they showed us dignity. In periods of want they displayed compassion and generosity. They revealed to us the enduring qualities of fraternity, community spirit and neighbourly values. This is the historical legacy which they have bequeathed to the nation and I am proud that my father was a coal miner in his time. This book has been written in their memory and the memory of my deceased father, Paddy Forde.
About the Author: William Forde was born in Ireland and now lives in Haworth, West Yorkshire, England with his wife Sheila. He has 5 children and is the author of 61 published books and 2 musical plays which are now available as Ebooks. One of West Yorkshire's most popular children's authors, his books were publicly read in over 2000 Yorkshire school assemblies by over 800 famous names and celebrities from the realms of Royalty, Film, Stage, Screen, Politics, Church, Sport between 1990 and 2002. The late Princess Diana read his earlier books to her then young sons, William and Harry. The late Nelson Mandela once phoned him to praise an African storybook he wrote. Others who have supported his works include 3 Princesses, 3 Prime Ministers, 2 Presidents and numerous Bishops of the realm. Former Chief Inspector of Schools for Ofsted, Chris Woodhead described his writings to the press as 'high quality literature.' Always at the forefront of change, he became the youngest Youth Leader and Trade Union Shop Steward in Great Britain at 18. In 1971, he founded Anger Management in Great Britain and freely gave his courses to the world. In the next 2 years, Anger Management courses mushroomed across the English-speaking world. In the mid-70s, he introduced Relaxation Training into HM Prisons. Between 1970 and 1995, he worked as a Probation Officer specialising in Relaxation Training, Anger and Stress Management, and Assertive Training Group Work introducing Relaxation Training groups into HM Prisons and also freely operating his Anger Management techniques, Stress Reduction Programmes and Relaxation Training groups within Educational establishments, Churches, Community Halls, Probation Offices, Hostels, Hospitals, Psychiatric Units and Old Folk's Homes. He retired early due to ill health in 1995 to further his writing career. This led him to work with the Minister of Youth and Culture in Jamaica establishing a trans-Atlantic pen-pal project between 30 primary schools in Falmouth, Jamaica and Yorkshire. William was awarded the MBE in the 1995 New Year's Honours List for services to West Yorkshire. He has never sought to materially profit from the publication of his books and all profit from their sales (approx £200,000 between 1990 and 2002) were given to charity. His latest books were published for adults under the generic title of "Tales from Portlaw". In 2013, William Forde learned that he had a terminal illness (CLL) for which he is presently undergoing treatment.