The Road Back Home: A Northern Childhood

Sid Waddell

nën 2009 · Random House

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'I had not lived in the former pit village of Lynemouth since 1961 but the winding road north from Newcastle will always be the same nostalgic highway, each twist charged with vivid memories and powerful emotions...'

So begins a story full of wonderful humour, emotional candour and hardy tales of tough times - a quietly epic family saga set amid the pit villages of the North East . It stretches from the 1920s, before Sid's parents had even met, to the final closing of the mine and his mother's death in 1999.

Sid paints a picture of a colourful, tight knit community full of good times and hard work, god-fearing women and hard-drinking men. Always dominating the skyline is Auld Betty, the pit head that took the men away each day and, with a prayer, brought them back each evening. Amongst the unforgettable cast of his extended family and friends, we follow the Waddells' attempts to stay afloat and provide a better future and possible escape for youngsters like Sid.

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Sid Waddell, 'The Geordie Lip', the Moses of the game, was born in Northumberland in 1940. He grew up in a former pit village near Newcastle, the son of a miner. He graduated with a degree in History from Cambridge University, then started out as a TV producer working on Indoor League in the early 1970s. This led to him receiving the back-handed compliment of being asked to be the BBC's lead commentator on all their major BDO televised darts tournaments. He worked for them in this capacity from 1978 to 1993 during which time he also penned the highly successful children's television series Jossy's Giants. Since 1993 he has worked for Sky Television and commentates on all major PDC televised darts tournaments.