No Way But Gentlenesse: A Memoir of How Kes, My Kestrel, Changed My Life

Born and raised in the South Yorkshire mining village of Hoyland Common, Richard Hines remembers heaps of coal dust, listening out for the colliery siren at the end of shifts and praying for his father’s safe return. When he failed his eleven-plus it seemed all too likely that he would follow in his father''s footsteps and end up working in the pits - unlike his older brother Barry, who had passed the exam to grammar school and seemed to be heading for great things.

Crushed by this, Richard ...