Publisher's Synopsis
Born in 1944, Desmond Ellis grew up on the banks of the Grand Canal in Dublin. This slightly awkward first-born child romps through his childhood like a bockety bicycle that won't quite go where it is steered. His playground is the Grand Canal, where he goes crashing through the reeds with fishing nets. At home he washes off the inevitable grime in a tin tub by the fire, and the toilet is a draughty shed in the yard. Bockety is a tale of a time of few cars and many bicycles. Gratification was to be had in Cleeve's toffe and gobstoppers. And then there was the terrible confusion of girls...
