A CHARMING collection of memoirs called Grandad’s Little Stories has been written by Stephen Jennings Fuller.
Born in 1939, in the village of Union Hall, Stephen grew up enjoying the kind of freedom that is light years removed from modern life.
It’s that very freedom that informs each chapter of Stephen’s book. Story after story offers a window into his world as the son of a shopkeeper, and a shop, that was central to the life of the village.
Today, the shop is owned and run by Stephen’s godson Noel Fuller. And, for many, it’s still central station.
‘In those days,’ Stephen told The Southern Star, ‘the village did not have electricity. There were no phones, no public transport, no TV and, obviously, no mobile phones.
‘What it did have were lots of kindly neighbours, and a camaraderie in which everybody was an individual in their own right. In such a world, a small child was a person to whom people talked to as an equal.’
Stephen was, in turn, a mischievous child, an intelligent student, devoted husband, father and a successful businessman.
He decided to write the book for two reasons. He wanted to write down and retain the anecdotes and raise money for the lifeboat service.
Stephen has generously decided to donate all the profits from the book to the RNLI Royal National Lifeboat Institution in memory of his father, Noel Stephen Fuller, who was lost at sea.
The book, priced €9.95, is available from Amazon, or directly from Stephen at [email protected].
