Charlie Draper grew up in Seaforth and Waterloo in the forties and his book vividly recalls the days when it seemed everything, especially pocket money, was seriously rationed. Times were hard but Charlie does not describe his childhood as deprived in any way.

Most of the place names he has written about will be as familiar to younger readers as they are to those of Charlie's own generation: The Five Lamps, Park House, Potters Barn and the derelict land next to the old GPO sorting offices in Seaforth. Battlescars and Pondweed is a nostalgic and affectionate look at a time gone by and the reader is sure to find the stories interesting and humorous.