AMAZON REVIEWS
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written autobiography evocative of times past
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 May 2021
This book is a must for those who wish to travel back in
time to days when life ran at a much slower pace, when children would go
outside to play for hours and your Gramp was your best friend.
Peter Lansley captures his idyllic childhood so well, growing up in the village
of Wootton Bridge on the Isle of Wight, living with his maternal grandparents.
It is very easy to imagine his halcyon days spent in a safe place where you
knew the coalman, milkman and butcher by name.
The book beautifully records the misconceptions a very young child would have,
making the adults laugh all the time. If you know the Isle of Wight it is easy
to visualise the places he visits with his beloved Gramp. It captures the warm
relationship they had and the feeling of safety that he must have enjoyed,
knowing his beloved Grandfather was always there for him.
A lovely book for those who enjoy social history, memoirs and local history.
Instead of "Cider with Rosie" think "Guinness with Granny!"
Your bookshelf needs this book.
Wight
Reader (TONY BARTON) Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars I could hardly keep a smile off my face!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 May 2021
Pon My Puff mainly records events from the early childhood
of the author, Peter Lansley, while his father was servicing in the Royal Navy
overseas, and Peter and his ‘Mummy’ were living with her parents, ‘Gramp’ and
‘Granny’ in the 1920’s.
Peter manages to capture both the innocence of his younger self and the wisdom
of his ‘Gramp’ who seems to have always been happy to answer his questions. But
sometimes what Peter ‘understood’ didn’t seem to fit Peter’s world – and often
the adults, and Peter himself, would end up with laughter and giggles (on
Peter’s part).
It was a time before many motor cars and electricity in the house; children
could roam free and safely cross roads – even if they sometimes came home
covered in mud! A family Christmas and a visit to Ashey Races are just two of
the events given in detail.
Anyone with knowledge of the area will probably be able to visualise the events
in their imagination.
The annotations added to the original text by Charles Lansley (Peter’s son),
helps clarify things which modern readers may not be familiar with.
A thoroughly enjoyable read.
5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone
should have a ‘mint sauce’ Sunday!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 May 2021
Looking at life on the Isle of Wight through a child’s eyes
in the 1920s is a hugely entertaining read.
Peter Lansley’s beautifully written novel captures this moment in time
perfectly.
Eloquent and amusing, a thoroughly enjoyable book, and a must for people who
love the Isle of Wight.
5.0 out of 5 stars Pon
my Puff a glimpse of the past
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 May 2021
This ís a delightful book which beautifully captures the
mind of a child, his adventures and misadventures in Wootton of the 1920s, his
relationships with his family, especially his beloved grandfather, and his
girlfriend Victoria. The gentle humour, the glimpses of Wootton of the past and
the people we meet along the way make this a very satisfying read.
Being familiar with Wootton of the present day and knowing much of its history,
I thoroughly enjoyed this glimpse of the past which brought to life a period I
have only read about.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 June 2021
This book reminded me in some ways of my own childhood and
the simplicity that surrounded that part of my life. The story is narrated
through the eyes of a very innocent young boy growing up in a semi-rural
environment. He discovers most of his lessons in life whilst staying with his
elderly Grandparents and Mother as his Father is away on active service in the
Navy. Some of the descriptions given are almost poetic, quickly allowing the
reader to picture the beautiful scenes involved.
I found this book a refreshing escape from our modern-day fixation on sex,
violence and crime. Expressed in a way that highlights the true meaning and
importance of family life and its values. It even featured a family Christmas,
the kind we would all cherish where family members and friends shared stories
and wholesome food was prepared, it even snowed!
Had the author published his writings at the time or written other material, I
firmly believe that he would have been a very successful writer. Instead, his
work was found after his death and thankfully published in his absence by his
next of kin. The book was refreshing, well written and featured some
delightfully heart-warming moments, and I would strongly recommend it to
anyone.
5.0 out of 5 stars I
couldn't put it down!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 August 2021
Pon My Puff is a delightful book and I couldn't put it down.
Many of the songs and phrases were recalled as taught me many
years ago by my grandmother, Gill.
Lots of things, sayings and memories recalled my own childhood
also spent on the IOW.
A very enjoyable book recalling my early memories of Wootton Bridge
via visits to family members who lived in the High Street.
Much of Wootton of this time, including the villas in Station Road,
are recorded in my historic postcard collection.
Gary
Farnell: Chairperson, Hampshire Writers' Society (on Amazon)
5.0 out of 5 stars An
Affectionate Title for an Affecting Memoir
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 August 2021
Peter Stark Lansley’s ‘Childhood in 1920s Isle of Wight’ is
a memoir in story form that is wonderfully idiomatic to its time and place. So
much so that the editing and annotation it receives makes the work doubly
interesting. That the editor, Charles Morris Lansley, is the son of this
memoir’s author conveys how this whole project has been a labour of love.
It is the son Charles who suggests in this book’s excellent Introduction that
Laurie Lee’s 'Cider with Rosie' represents a good point of comparison for his
father’s story. The difference, of course, is that a childhood and village-life
in Gloucestershire is transposed to the Isle of Wight. But the sense of
penetration into the local culture is much the same.
Peter’s lived experience of Island ways as a five-year-old child are, then,
annotated sensitively by Charles as his adult son. This move brings out still
further the interest of this coming-of-age tale for the general reader. The
tale itself, with its structure of memorable scenes from childhood, is unfinished.
But it is supplemented, editorially, by a Short Biography.
There are, then, two life-stories that unfold in this one volume. Juxtaposed as
they are, they bear out the truth of the insight that images from childhood
memory are ‘preforming’ in relation to later life, as suggested by the German
writer Walter Benjamin in his 1932 'Berlin Childhood around 1900'. Thus, the
Short Biography, detailing Peter’s life as it unfolds in the Merchant Navy and
in the Ministry of Aviation, notes at the end ‘a total of 40 years’ service for
his country’ (p. 260).
But the seeds of this sort of life are precisely the images that Peter himself
furnishes in this memoir-in-fiction. It is, correspondingly, no wonder that
details concerning relations with parents and grandparents, as well as with a
first girlfriend named Victoria, should feature so prominently. They embody
what is conveyed as a profound wholesomeness regarding Island life. Indeed,
everything is epitomized in the sheer benignity of the grandfather’s – Gramp’s
– favourite expression whenever he encounters anything surprising . . . ‘Pon my
puff!’
The phrase makes for an affectionate title for this affecting memoir.
5.0 out of 5 stars I
Didn't Want to Put it Down!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 September 2021
This is not just a book about one person's childhood on the
pre-War Isle of Wight. More an account of how to get the best out of the wide
variety of aspects of family history research, for example, finding long
concealed documents, encouraging family members to share their memories,
visiting local cemeteries, and conducting formal research in the Isle of Wight
County Record Office. Then bringing all the results together into a coherent,
lively whole.
The author's son, Charles Lansley, takes on the role of editor, researcher and
family member, in the process writing in a most engaging and sensitive style
making for a lovely read - in fact, I didn't want to put it down! It certainly
brings home the slow pace of life in rural Wight and carries resonances of the
Victorian novels set in the lsland such as "The Silence of Dean
Maitland" by Maxwell Gray published in 1886. It was also nice to see an
under-valued place such as Wootton as the centre piece of the narrative,
instead of Newport or Carisbrooke, for a change.
I would add that there is no need to be deterred by the unusual title,
"'Pon my Puff". This was never explained but it is simply an
old-fasioned version of the phrase "Upon my Soul". Given that the
Grandparents in the book were born in the 1850s, this is really a voice from
the Island's Victorian past.
Lastly, Charles Lansley expresses the hope that others will delight in his
version of the childhood memories of his late father Peter. Well, I would like
to reassure him that they certainly will!
Jane Smith.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
description of a bygone life on the IOW.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 August 2021
Excellent description of a bygone life on the IOW.
5.0 out of 5 stars Pon
My Puff. Review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 September 2021
This book is clearly filled with love, love of family, love
of the Isle of Wight. The preciousness of childhood innocence and the clarity
with which the author reveals excitement of learning from his mentor, his
Grandfather. His father being away at war in the Navy was always worrying for
those left to look after the family and children. Grandpa does an amazing job
of being older than dad, but clearly in touch with his own childhood and young
mind. These two, Peter and Gramps were comrades. Gramps instilling wisdom and a
genuine love of the Isle and of life. Even to the extent that Gramps helps
Peter cope and understand death in such a beautiful way. This is a truly heart
felt book written from the heart and edited with real care and attention to the
author’s intent and feelings. Besides the thrills and spills, this book tells
me that the Lansley family have a lot of love and respect for each other. Sadly
rather rare these days. Pon My Puff is worth a read for so many reasons.
Peta (on Amazon)
5.0 out of 5 stars What a great read!
A wonderful story of growing up on the Isle of Wight through
the eyes of a child
Reviewed in Australia on 19 August 2021
WATERSTONES REVIEWS
REVIEW BY SUSAN MOORE 6 MAY 2021
“A must for social and local history lovers”
This is a truly lovely book. The author captures the
innocence of his childhood, growing up in the 1920's in Wootton Bridge on the
Isle of Wight. We learn of his first trip to school, where he fell in love with
his teacher, his escapades around the town and an exciting trip to the local
Ashey Races by steam train. He safely enjoys all these event accompanied by his
best friend, his Grandfather.
I really enjoyed this book and was quite sad when it finished, although the
editor (his son, Charles) does provide a timeline of his father's life as a
short biography at the end to bring the story up to date.
REVIEW BY PATRICIA PHILLIPS
“My world was wonderful”. A few words from the first chapter of this book tells
us of life for a child in the fairly small village of Wootton in the Isle of
Wight. Peter Lansley’s account as seen through the eyes of a child in the 1920s
gives us fascinating details of his family and friends, while setting the scene
of family life, together with his obvious love for his grandfather.
Wandering round the village with his friend Victoria or waiting to meet
relatives from the mainland who were visiting, we get the sense of excitement
and adventure. Getting stuck in the mud at Wootton Creek – listening for the
sound of the steam train arriving at Wootton station, we find we are sharing in
the thoughts and fears of a small child, and also hearing of his puzzlement and
questions which he talked about with his grandfather.
Going to Ashey Races or walking from Wootton to Arreton to visit St George’s
church and the grave of “The Dairyman’s Daughter”, Peter and his grandfather
find much to talk about.
A wonderful world indeed, and so well remembered and recorded.
Charles Lansley is to be congratulated on publishing “Pon my Puff”, written by
his father, Peter Lansley.
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