This manuscript is a collection of short stories based on actual events and memories sprinkled with a few spirited yarns and traditional good old-fashioned Geordie humour.
I would flex my muscles and dream of a physique sculptured out of solid bronze. Mark James, the Byker Lion
Bespoke bronze sculpture commissioned and produced by Ron Moll, 11 Aug 2009, my seventieth year.
Circa l’autore
Mark James was born in Byker, Newcastle, upon Tyne in 1939. He left school barely able to read or write.
Aged forty-eight, he attended Heaton Adult Education Centre and was encouraged to develop his unique writing skills and storytelling. The manuscript is written in a style that contains an element of Geordie dialect, keeping with the traditional humour and nature of the tales.
Finally, I would like to thank the man himself—the Russian Lion, the late great George Hackenschmidt, and his little red book, “The Way to Live.”