Peter Yates

I have been a semi-professional purveyor of words for over twenty five years, it is a dodgy business so a steady job seemed a good back-up.Long before I wrote anything for money I was always a writer, my first recollection was when I was five years old and won a competition for a story, I don't remember anything about it except it covered both sides of five 'slates', in the infants school as it was called in those days we used slate and chalk. I remember distinctly having a right old telling off later on in the junior school. We had been set the task by a teacher of writing an essay about anything to do with the summer school holiday we had just returned from. I did my bit and was castigated beyond belief. My story was about the trip to Rhyl in my dad's Ford Eight,how he took a spare set of spark plugs, plenty of water for the radiator, you know the sort of thing. We stopped for a natural break and a cup of tea halfway, we had a puncture, the back bumper fell off, we strapped it to the roof, and so on. My teacher's complaint was I mentioned nothing about the holiday we were going on. I politely told her my story wasn't about the holiday, it was about getting there and if she looked at the top of the first page she would see it was called 'The Journey'. I spent the rest of the day standing in the corner for my cheek.

My first serious solo commission was to write a stage play - 'Worker's Playtime', which was professionally and successfully staged completing a summer season in West Wales.The success of this brought about a second commission, a street theatre production 'Tell Tales of Tenby'. This was staged at the very first Tenby Arts Festival in 1991 and in later years.

'Teddy Tutu' is a talking book,spoken by George Rawlins, a well-known TV voice over specialist and complete with original wall to wall music. Seven cuddly toys come alive to rescue their children from a potential eco-disaster, and is of course a take on the Seven Samurai.

There is no reason to mention all the years I have spent writing gags and jokes for stand-up comics, TV sketch shows, best man speeches, etc, so I will.

'Up Our Yard' one of my novels on Kindle started life as a radio play for that wonderful comedy actress Dame Thora Hird, who this author is proud to have known as a friend, 'Up Our Yard' has since been expanded and re-written as a novel for Kindle.

There is a story I would like to add about 'Up Our Yard'. I have always been in the habit of picturing in my mind an actor or actress speaking the lines of my main protagonist. I tend to switch off everything in order to see the scene. When I originally wrote 'Up Our Yard', on spec if you like, I used this same system, on this ocassion I wrote the lines as if I could hear Thora Hird -she was not a Dame as yet - actually speaking the words. When I had finished the prospective radio play, as it was then, I thought what the hell, why not, and I sent the script to Thora Hird. In those days, I don't know about now, if you sent a script specifically for one person to the BBC providing that person was contratced to the Beeb if you put 'please forward to...whoever' on the envelope they would do just that. They did. The next thing I knew I answered the phone one evening, a voice said 'Hello, is that Peter? This is Thora Hird.' Magic. There are many reasons why writing can be a waste of time and it can be very disappointing, but now and again, there is a damn good reason to carry on, and that was such an occasion. A wonderful lady, she lived at that time in a Mews in London with 'Scotty' her devoted husband, neither sadly are now with us, sorely missed.

'Grinding Halt' again on Kindle as a novel, was originally commissioned as a pilot for a BBC sit-com for a particularly well known comedy actor, (again using my patent system) but it foundered in a sea of apathy for this type of television by commissioning editors who believe it is their mission to tell you what you want to watch. This has been extensively expanded into the novel you see here. 'More From Grinding Halt' is now available on Kindle and carries on where 'Grinding Halt' left off, doing exactly what it says on the tin.

'Up a Duck's Armpit' arguably the very first Aynuk and Ayli story (Black Country people will know what I mean) features Sir Enoch du Wulfrun and his squire Elijah Morgan who return home after fighting in the crusades in the fourteenth century.

'Further up a Duck's Armpit' is now available, continuing the saga of a small village in the 14th century.

'Josh and the Snow Dome' is a pure unadulterated fantasy, a Christmas story for those of us who still believe.

'Josh the Snow Dome and Auntie Muriel' is as you can imagine a sequel to the above.

'Josh and the Snow Domes of Doubt' is the third and final adventure for Josh and his sister Hayley who once again are called upon to save Christmas-land.

'Vigil-aunties' is a world away from my usual comdey, it is quite a hard hitting drama,set in the future, about 25 years or so when anarchy on the streets is almost the accepted norm, except for a few who are angry that nothing is being done on their behalf. It is a battle by those who refuse to accept both this anarchy on the streets and the apathy of those in power. Much to the ire of those on the gravy train of the politically powerful these citizens take to the streets, and they are none too gentle.

'A Fete Worse Than Death'is a good old-fashioned romp rather in the manner of the Whitehall farces of years ago.It was originally written as a stage play and when you read it, if you think you may have seen it in a theatre you may well be right, I am glad to say many did, except it was called 'Hanky Panky' in those day. Turning it into a novel I have been able to expand beyond the restrictions of a theatre stage and this has actually improved on the original, I think you will like it.

'The Lost Nation of the Angeln' is the story of when in 1956 the journal of Captain Cornelius Wood was found. He tells the story of when in 1927 he discovered a community of people - the 'Angeln' - who had lived undetected for a thousand years in the caves and tunnels under Dudley castle in Worcestershire. He became embroiled in a power battle, he fell in love with their queen, he fell foul of her ambitious brother and it all could have ended in tragedy. Find out if it did or not, and if it didn't how and why.

My latest work to hit Kindle is a serious historical investigation that took nearly five years - on a part time basis. In the town where I was born Willenhall Staffordshire, there is a short length of street called 'Temple Bar'. I was for many years puzzled what the significance of this might be. Temple Bar literally means 'gateway to the temple', but what temple, and where, and why? What started as a simple quest to answer one question opened up a veritable Pandora's box and the rest as they say - and no pun intended - is history.

Which-ever story you choose, please enjoy, that is why they were written - and please tell your friends. Thank you so much, Peter.