tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post4156714956457069443..comments2024-03-06T07:06:38.928-08:00Comments on JSBlog - Journal of a Southern Bookreader: John Petty: The FaceRay Girvanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-87510097059731150152015-02-04T12:29:07.058-08:002015-02-04T12:29:07.058-08:00You might be interested in this map link. Despite ...You might be interested in <a href="http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sidebyside.cfm#zoom=15&lat=52.60226&lon=-2.01209&layers=171" rel="nofollow">this map link</a>. Despite the transformation, there are still features that persist.Ray Girvanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-73458270583288566142015-02-04T12:15:51.738-08:002015-02-04T12:15:51.738-08:00It's a bit of a syndrome. There are some peopl...It's a bit of a syndrome. There are some people who are undoubtedly hard-done-by, yet who, you feel, would be in less hardship if they didn't fritter away so much of their resources protesting about how hard-done-by they are. There are some very inexpensive paperback copies of The Last Refuge on Amazon.Ray Girvanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-49008894242311732802015-02-04T08:24:13.226-08:002015-02-04T08:24:13.226-08:00Amused by the description of Petty as a "self...Amused by the description of Petty as a "self-obsessed git." But that's exactly how I felt about him after reading The Face. Also, my mother-in-law knew him when he lived in Kent Street, and was of the opinion that he was a most unpleasant individual.<br />I was most interested in this book because I lived on Beechdale Estate in Walsall, the site of the tip, railway and canal he describes in such detail. At one time you could actually retrace his steps to these places, and my Dad is still able to fill in some of the details. So far as his personal situation was concerned, I mentioned elsewhere that I worked at Walsall Housing Dept in the sixties. His correspondence with that department was voluminous, and I spent one afternoon reading his uncensored account of his awful existence. A pity that could never be published.<br />Walsall's claim to fame is minimal, and I don't think John Petty would help very much. Having said that, I recently checked to see if the library service had a copy of The Last Refuge. They didn'tCaptainCnoreply@blogger.com