Les Edwards
Les Edwards was born in North London in April 1952, 15 minutes before his twin sister. The twins squashed in with the rest of the family in the ground floor of an inner-city Victorian terraced house. The whole road had survived the blitz intact but local planners decided to demolish it to make way for flats so the family moved out to a new council estate in the comparative countryside of Hertfordshire.
Les served an engineering apprenticeship at a cooker manufacturing company then worked two summer seasons and one winter season at a holiday camp in Devon.
During his second summer season, Les asked a waitress for a dance on her first night at the camp. Kathy became the love of his life and, after thirty years of living together, they finally tied the knot.
When Les was 25 years old, his parents told Kathy that he would have been a triplet had one not died at birth. That was news to him and the ifs, buts and maybes of his whole life - even his very existence - inspired him to write his first novel.
“Funtime Summer 72” tells the stories of friendship, love, serendipity and tragedy at a seaside holiday camp on the English Riviera. It’s unashamedly adult fiction, exposing life behind the glitter and glamour of family entertainment over the summer of 1972 - the glam rock period after flower power but long before the digital age.
The two main characters, Lenny and Callum, are thrown together after they get assigned to the same holiday centre as entertainers. An admin mix-up influences the way that they are treated and they react in different ways to incidents and opportunities that come their way.
As the season progresses, mishaps and accidents occur within the camp, on excursions and at local events including the Brixham trawler race and carnival. The pendulum of fate swings between good and bad fortune as secrets are revealed and achievements accomplished, provoking tears of laughter or sadness.
A relevant music track from the author’s YouTube Playlist, also called “Funtime Summer 72”, is suggested for playing with each chapter to enhance the reader’s experience.
