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2018 looking back: A story of a man who wants to fall in love one last time
The Six Loves of Billy Binns
What you need to know before your trail
At 117 years old, Billy Binns is the oldest man in Europe and he knows his time is almost up. But Billy has a final wish: he wants to remember what love feels like one last time. As he looks back at the relationships that have shaped his life – and the events that shaped the century – he recalls a life full of hope, heartbreak and, above all, love.
Travel Guide
London
This is a story firmly set in London. The area in and around Shepherd Bush are where teh characters live when young and the strest become their playground, where they date girls, go around each others houses and later on have to suffer the war. Some of them leave for France, but it’s the war in London that provides the more shocking change in their local area.
A few places of note in the novel:
Ravenscourt Park
A place where even then it was nice to feed the ducks and where one of the characters takes a date.
Hammmersmith Palais
The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue that operated from 1919 until 2007. It was the first palais de danse to be built in Britain! Perfect for Billy’s story as he remembers his dates and early love life.
Portobello Market
The famous market is still going strong but during the war years and beyond, this market is a bonding force for community in the area and for the characters.
“Seeing the gradual disappearance of fields as the nineteenth century shifted into the twentieth where this was the edge of old London. Shepherd’s Bush Green has the last patch of grass where sheep would graze overnight on their way to market the following day.”
Shepherd Bush Market
“Shepherd’s bush market runs under the railway arches between the Uxbridge and Goldhawk roads. In 1914, two new Metropolitan Lines station are put at each end to replace the single one running along the bridge.”
The river:
“The mouth to a busy waterway that once carried barges to and from the river.”
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Six Loves of Billy Binns
Destination : London Author/Guide: Richard Lumsden Departure Time: 2018 looking back
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