A love story that started with a song and lasted 30 years

"Where do I begin? It sounds like the opening line of a song, which it is. The song is Love Story, which is what I am going to tell you now..."

The Twelfth Of Never

In 1963 Harry Snook walked into the Spotted Cow pub in Lewisham. It was an open mic night and Harry loved to sing. He drank his pint of light and bitter and sang a Frank Sinatra song. A week later he returned and sang The Twelfth Of Never by Johnny Mathis. He received a standing ovation and looking around the room, a face caught Harry's eye. Blonde, with big, blue eyes, high cheek bones which were ever so slightly flushed, possibly with make-up. It was the most beautiful face he had ever seen. The blonde was called Pat. The Twelfth Of Never is Harry's and Pat's love story. 

Extract

... I liked to sing in those days. Every other pub had a live group consisting of a piano, drums and a microphone up for grabs. I could sing in a different pub every night of the week if I wanted to. I was never the most handsome bloke or the tallest but I could sing. I’d been doing so from the age of 10 and I enjoyed the attention. I wanted to be liked and when I sang, I felt that people liked me.

Lil didn’t like my singing and didn’t like me practising at home either. She really dampened my spirits and wouldn’t come out with me. When we lived with her mum, (she’d just hired a telly) Lil would say, “I’ll sit in with Mum and watch the telly.”

So I went out and sang. There was always at least one woman in the audience who fancied me and I took full advantage. I didn’t care whether she was married or single. My motto was ‘Who am I to deny a lady half an hour’s pleasure if she fancies me?”

The Author

Harry Snook was born in 1932 in Kingsbury, London. He was a carpenter, a joiner and a cab driver. He has been married three times and has seven children. He lives in Herne Bay, Kent and his hobbies include writing, painting and amateur dramatics. The Twelfth Of Never is his first book.

Your Memoir

This book was written with the support of Your Memoir, a business that helps people write and publish their life stories. After reading The Twelfth Of Never, you may feel that you also have a story to tell... contact Your Memoir to see if they can help you.