At Their Beck and Call: From Coalplace to Country Estates

John had been a miner for twenty-two years in the East Durham collieries when, a few years prior to the mine closures, he led his family out and around England. He progressed to being a butler for three of the country’s richest families during the period 1968-1979.

This memoir starts by describing family life in 1960s Shotton Colliery, then documents the often-hilarious emergence of the family into the wider world, from the poor conditions of a mining community, to the opulence of country estates.

Woven into the tapestry are the experiences of John’s youngest child (the author), who attends two boarding schools, studying to be a priest, then two universities, studying to be a pure mathematician.