A Life in Three Acts: newly published by local author Chris Hamson.

Autobiographies and memoirs are usually the preserve of the rich and famous, people who think they are more important than the rest of us. It has always seemed to Chris that so-called ordinary folk have histories which are just as interesting, but it’s seen as a bit pretentious when they put pen to paper (or fingers to word processor!) to tell their story. He doesn’t agree with that, having really enjoyed reading accounts of all sorts of people – people often from a bygone age who spent their lives perhaps in mundane employments just getting on with things.

Having wondered if he was being pretentious in thinking that his own history might be of interest he decided that it was worth writing his memories down, if only for his family.

There have been three distinct segments to his life: three acts, hence the title of the book. The First Act began at his birth in Kettering and continued for his first 24 years. The Second Act covered the next 25 years living in Northampton, when his career took up a good proportion of his time as well as life in local churches and raising his family, and the Third Act largely covers the period of his retirement up to the present day.