Gervase Phinn reveals his early experiences as a school inspector in The Other Side of the Dale". As the newly appointed County Inspector of Schools in North Yorkshire Gervase Phinn reveals in this warm & wonderfully humorous account the experiences of his first year in the job
- & what an education it was! He quickly learns that he must slow his pace & appreciate the beautiful countryside
- ' Are tha'comin' in then mester or are tha' stoppin' out theer all day admirin' t'view?' He encounters some larger-than-life characters from farmers & lords of the manor to teaching nuns & eccentric caretakers. & best of all he discovers the delightful & enchanting qualities of the Dales children including the small boy who when told he's not very talkative answers: ' If I've got owt to say I says it & if I've got owt to ask I asks it'. With his keen ear for the absurd & sharp eye for the ludicrous Gervase Phinn's stories in " The Other Side of the Dale" will not fail to make you weep with laughter. " Gervase Phinn's memoirs have made him a hero in school staff-rooms". (" Daily Telegraph"). Gervase Phinn is an author & educator from Rotherham who after teaching for fourteen years in a variety of schools moved to North Yorkshire to be a school inspector. He has written autobiographies novels plays collections of poetry & stories as well as a number of books about education. He holds five fellowships honorary doctorates from Hull Leicester & Sheffield Hallam universities & is a patron of a number of children's charities & organizations. He is married with four adult children. His books include " The Other Side of the Dale" " Over Hill & Dale" " Head Over Heels in the Dales" " The Heart of the Dales" " Up & Down in the Dales" & " Trouble at the Little Village School"."