The birth of a baby is normally the cause for major celebration in all families. In this instance, the joy was matched with an equal dose of relief, since both parents had survived the worst that the Second World War could throw at them, and were looking forward to a return to civilian life with their newborn son. On his discharge from the armed forces, the father said his goodbyes to his in-laws and started the long journey back to the ancestral tribe in Wales, with his wary wife and indifferent son in tow. He looked forward to the forthcoming reunion with those of his brothers who had stayed at home to help run the family business. There is little doubt that they too were looking forward to smoking the pipe of peace and burying the hatchet - in him. It was a large family and they had all suffered the rough and tumbles of living in it. War had been a relief. The newly anointed Mother Tumbler came from a more genteel family background in Kent, but it was not entirely a normal household; suffice it to say that her parents had bought a new three bedroom semi-detached house in the 1930s, and the first thing that was added to it was a sign on the vehicle gate indicating where the Tradesman's Entrance was located. Father Tumbler was perplexed by the behaviour of this strange creature that he had sired. In reality, father and son had inherited a defective gene that made them behave in an amoral way; that is to say, each could distinguish right from wrong, but neither cared about the consequences of taking either route. When faced with a dilemma or opportunity, anyone around them could unpredictably suffer or be amused; it was pot luck. As life unfolds, the growing boy encounters and deals with a series of unfortunate events, the majority of them amusing and others surrounded by pathos. Witnessing the ongoing drama from the sidelines, an increasingly stressed mother makes her presence felt as she despairingly tries to cope with the gruesome twosome. This is an uplifting and humorous tale of a passage through life. It is also a warning to teachers everywhere.
About the Author: The author was born in 1944 in the small province of Wales, in Not-as-'Great'-as-it-once-was Britain. The back cover of the book contains an air-brushed photo of the real author, who stumbled upon the pseudonym of Terry Tumbler that masks his true identity. The fact that his physical identity has been unmasked does not worry him, since no one who reads his first book can possibly recognise him from the long gone days of his childhood. This book, as you may be aware by now, is an accurate recollection of key events that occurred in his early life. The author left full-time education with a higher level certificate in Business Studies, had a Commercial Apprenticeship in the Titanium Industry, and subsequently gained professional qualifications in Personnel Management and as a Company Secretary. He worked in all aspects of computing for over thirty years, during which time many reports and two technical manuals were written and printed. Those who may wish to inflict retribution for his innocently evil behaviour as a child, may well see through the flimsy disguise, but should know that the author now lives on alien shores and cares not one jot for their intentions.