Donkey apparently going down the street

We meet Jack Foley in wartime Clovelly, when he is responsible for supervising the donkeys that transported goods up the cobbled street. As I was writing Barefoot on the Cobbles, Jack’s role in the novel resulted in a lengthy debate. I had composed a passage during which Jack led a laden donkey down the street. It was then pointed out me that donkeys only carried luggage up the street and the downward journey would be undertaken using a sledge. Regretfully, I re-wrote the passage. Then a photograph was found where a laden donkey appeared to be heading down. I regretted my re-write but it seems it was necessary after all, as I later learned that this was a posed photograph and not a reflection of real life in Clovelly.

The John, or Jack, Foley who appears in the novel was born in 1880 into a seagoing Clovelly family. John however remained ashore and became a carriage driver, almost certainly working for Mrs Hamlyn. In later life, perhaps due to the advent of motor transport, he worked as a general labourer. In 1903, he married Dorothy Wonnacott and spent most of his life living at 85 High Street, Clovelly. He died in 1962.

‘The Collins trailed a few paces behind their luggage as the lurching sledge negotiated the cobbles under the adept guidance of Jack Foley.’

Barefoot on the Cobbles will be published on 17 November 2018. More information about the novel can be found here. Copies will be available at various events in the weeks following the launch or can be pre-ordered from Blue Poppy Publishing or the author.