Playing Out - Swings and Roundabouts outlines the first ten years of Paul's life. Abandoned by his mother at six weeks old, he lives alongside three brothers and a sister being raised by their lorry driver father. Struggling to cope, their father does his best to provide but living on state handouts means the children often go without.Being motherless has a huge impact on every aspect of his existence. In way of compensation, swings and roundabouts, Paul is afforded the freedom to roam. Hardships aplenty, lacking the nurture that often comes from a motherly embrace, Paul is being sculpted, his life is playing out.Set in the 1970s, the older reader can enjoy a nostalgic trip down memory lane and the youngsters can view the offline existence of kids who wore flares and had bad hair. Products and television programmes, toys and confectionery, the sweetest of memories entwined with the roughness of a working-class environment. Street games, scrumping and sewage tunnels. A patchwork quilt of Paul's memories stitched together using a rather coarse yarn makes this story a true account of British social history that is both poignant and humorous. All the main elements of the story are genuine incidents, although many of the people and places have been distorted to protect the guilty and to assist with the flow of the narrative. The best word to describe Paul Douglas Lovell is "unconventional" and it makes sense that his author bio would also be far from typical.Coming from a motherless family of five children, this runt of the litter had to scratch and scramble for any attention he received. In his book, Playing Out: Swings and Roundabouts, the reader finds a young Lovell in the 1970s living on the margins of society. Homelife was always unsteady with the threat of eviction and the struggle to pay for amenities. It was a cold and hungry existence. Petty criminality and abuse further distorted his outlook on life, and he quickly became a problem child.His time at school was spent on everything, but learning. Empty Corridors: Learning to Fail finds Lovell attending school in the 1980s, without much change. He was still labeled a problem. His academic knowledge was that of an eleven-year-old, and he left school without a single qualification, struggling to read and lacking ambition.Yet, within a year, a seed was sown. His practical side knew that a pen and paper would always remain affordable, and, because of this, Lovell yearned to become a writer. Even at sixteen, he knew he had enough fodder for a book, though it would be years before he would commit anything to paper. That required courage and understanding of his past. He tried his hand at fiction, which was a terrible idea. To this day he keeps a sealed envelope containing his first drafts complete with grammatical errors and misused words. One saving grace was that Paul was an empty slate, and, once he moved to London, he spent time gaining whatever knowledge and life experience he could.In Paulyanna: International Rent Boy, the reader finds Lovell living in London during the 1990s and working the streets, a profession he fell into and one that suited him. While unorthodox, and regardless of ethics and judgments, he felt valued for the first time in his life. Being paid for being himself felt like an achievement. He was encouraged to take a beginner writing course and a course in media studies. BTec courses were basic and underfunded yet perfect for Lovell who was like a sponge. While some students were able to converse confidently on a wide range of topics, Paul felt unsure of himself and even intimidated. But when he shared his childhood stories and American street tales, he found that he easily captured the attention of his peers.This ability to spin a yarn whilst...
