Derek is the eldest child in a working-class family of five children, growing up in the aftermath of a world war, in the village of Norton, part of the town of Stockton-On-Tees in County Durham. In the 1950s, Stockton's a town in slow decline since the heady days of docks, mines and factory industries which gave almost full employment. By now, the biggest employer in the area is the Billingham ICI chemical works which looms over the town, threatening a pollution which would later give Teessiders the unkind knick-name of Smoggies As a child, Derek and his pals, Dennis and Micky, are cocooned from the adult world of work and life's day-to-day drudgery. In a humorous and nostalgic way, some of Derek's schooldays and childhood adventures with friends and family, are captured in eight short stories. Children will enjoy Derek's tales. Adults will recall how much freer kids appeared to be, growing up in a, seemingly, more innocent world.