David Joy will be joining us for a Cream Tea and Meet the Author Even at The Stripey Badger on Tuesday 19th September, 2:30pm. For more information click here.
 
Mostly Joy is largely set in what for well over 100 years has been the family home in Hebden Gill, Upper Wharfedale. Here was kindled a passionate love of the countryside and a determination to safeguard the wonderful Dales and its people. 
For almost 30 years there was a daily journey "over the tops" to an office in the delightful village of Clapham. It formed a base to develop a list of hundreds of Dalesman books, always involving an emphasis on railways due to an obsession with steam and especially the beloved Settle-Carlisle Line. 
 
The memoir begins by looking back in time to farmer Joys who grew up at lonley Rams Close, above today's Grimwith Reservoir. It follows thier fortunes down to my father, who became a noted agricultural journalist in an age when newspaper offices were a constant clatter of manual typewriters. Memorable happenings include the involvement of a Duke and his immense wealth, a bitter dispute between brothers that led to all possessions being auctioned, and escaping hard times in the Dales to keep cows in Liverpool.