BORN in the 1950s in Lochgelly, Elizabeth Fleming, who now lives in London, has compiled a book of memories of growing up in a Fife mining community in the 50s and 60s, writes Kerry Black.

This is a lovely book filled with nostalgic anecdotes, however, it also shows the poverty her family was forced to endure due to the fact that her mother was a single parent. Even the title harks back to “Listen With Mother” the popular 1950s radio show which always started with “Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin”.

Starting with her birth in 78 Auchterderran Road, the book whirls us back in time, you can almost smell the coal stour and wintergreen rising fae the pages. I loved the descriptions of her aunties in their cross over peenies and big tartan baffies – I could almost have been reading about my own granny and her sister. Although I was not brought up in a mining community, I spent most of my spare time in the mining villages where my grandparents and extended family lived, so I can totally relate to this book.

I loved the tales of days at the beach with sand in yer piece and warm, milky flasks of tea as families braved the elements, no matter how awful the weather actually was! While I knew all about the Berry Buses, which took families to pick fruit and earn some much needed cash in the holidays, I had no idea that families like Elizabeth’s actually stayed on the farms in auld chicken sheds for the duration. Hearing how they increased the weight o’ their punnets may have just about put me aff berries for life though!

In a time before state benefits, her mum struggled by on her family allowance with the support of her extended family. I found it heartbreaking that the council expected her mum to surrender the family home when her parents passed away. Reading the original council correspondence was very moving – luckily thanks to her mum’s tenacity, they were able to retain their family home.

In a time of rag ringlets, listening to Nellie the Elephant, Fair Isle cardigans, reading the Bunty and dreaming of being a ballerina, Elizabeth’s life changes when her mum meets Mr Beckett and they combine and expand their families. Indeed, it’s obvious that her mother’s good looks ensured she was never short of male company!

This is a very nostalgic memoir, sure to evoke memories for local folk. It is currently for sale at £9.99 in Lochgelly Co-op, The Minto and Macari’s Café. Also, a generous £5.00 from the sale of each book is going to the Lochgelly Gala Fund.