
Jill Phillips – publishing a family memoir in retirement
About this episode
Childhood memories inspire a self-publishing project in retirement.
When Jill Phillips was growing up, creative pursuits such as painting and writing were not activities that her working-class community ever thought of doing, they were considered luxury pastimes for the more wealthy Londoners.
That was in the mid 1960s. Fast forward to the 2020s and Jill has published a memoir of life on Lamlash Street back then, and found a whole new outlook on life to boot.
Jill had a way with words as a youngster, but failed her A-levels and went to work in a clerical role. Pre-computers, she would file cards and answer the phone, and explains that
‘I was never so bored in my whole life.’
Jill liked to travel, and eventually emigrated to Canada, where she worked in occupational therapy and healthcare for 30 years.
In her early retirement, Jill started to write down the stories her family had recounted to her of life in 1960s working-class London, and some of her own tales of growing up there.
When her much-loved uncle died she wanted the family stories and his war stories to live on, and used some of the small inheritance he had left her to invest in mentoring and getting her book published.
Lamlash Street is that book, and in writing and publishing it Jill found out a few surprising things about herself too.
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Buy Lamlash Street here
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Researched, edited and produced by Claire Waite Brown
Music: Day Trips by Ketsa Undercover / Ketsa Creative Commons License Free Music Archive - Ketsa - Day Trips
Artworks: Emily Portnoi emilyportnoi.co.uk
Photo: Ella Pallet
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Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout
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