Somewhere To Lay My Head

Description

We left Robert a long way from home, a sixteen-year-old recruit in the RAF. Now, we follow his escape from the Forces (until National Service a few years later!), his return to Glasgow and life down the pit. Once more, Robert's fantastic memory for people, places and anecdotes, combined with an ear for individual voices and the brilliant ability to evoke a bygone sense of community, will enchant his readers and sometimes appal them with the brutality of conditions he experienced.

Now retired, Robert Douglas worked as a prison officer and an electricity chargehand. Although he has lived in Northumberland for many years, he says you can take the boy out of Glasgow, but you'll never take Glasgow out of the boy.

'Warm, energetic...punchy' -- The Sunday Times 20060827 'A natural-born writer...pins down all-too-human characters in a sentence or two - and a number of times he made me laugh out loud. He also recaptures the late 1950s and early 1960s, rekindling memories for those of us who were there or thereabouts and bringing them alive for those who weren't...convincing and entertaining' -- The Scotsman 20060819 'Night Song of the Last Tram" was one of the most moving autobiographies ever penned by a Scottish writer...Somewhere to Lay my Head" takes up where that left off...Once again demonstrating an outstanding gift for evoking the atmosphere and emotions of a time gone by, this wonderfully talented storyteller takes us on a journey that he started as a boy and ended as a man' -- Daily Record 20060819 'If Blake Morrison is the Radio 4 of family memoir, then Robert Douglas is definitely the Radio 2' -- Sunday Herald 20061126 'With the ending of NIGHT SONG OF THE LAST TRAM, Douglas left us longing to find out what happened to his 16-year-old self, so cruelly cast out into the world. Now, in SOMEWHERE TO LAY MY HEAD, Douglas continues his story, portraying a bright and clever boy who never got the opportunities he deserved, but was still determined to make his way in the world' -- Publishing News 20060421 'It recreates stunningly clear memories of a Glasgow childhood ... I laughed until the tears ran down my legs.' -- Daily Mail on NIGHT SONG OF THE LAST TRAM 20060421 'Exquisite' -- The Sunday Times on NIGHT SONG 20060421 'A grace and assurance that turn everyday episodes into the stuff of romance.' -- Times Literary Supplement on NIGHT SONG 20060421 'A well-written slice of social history delivered directly by an eyewitness' -- Independent on Sunday on NIGHT SONG 20060421 'The portrait of his mother is beautifully done ... it brings tears to my eyes now just writing about it. A quite exceptional autobiography.' -- Publishing News, Book of the Month, on NIGHT SONG 20060421