The Blacksmith's Son Author:Frank Stanford Jon Boyd provides us with this impression of Frank Stanford and The Blacksmith's Son: The first time I spoke to Frank Stanford on the phone, I said, "How are you?" His reply was typically English, "Ah well, mustn't complain!" He and his wife Dawn were dealing with her terminal illness at the time. His attitude is a product of his upbringing. Fra... more »nk Stanford's reminiscences about growing up in a small English village as the son of a Blacksmith take us back to different times-times gone by where everyone knew and trusted their neighbor, everything was done by hand and there was gratification in a job well done. He also takes us on a tour of the changes wrought by modernization and two world wars: the displacement of the Blacksmith by the tractor, strange and wonderful aircraft seen for the first time, out-of-work "Tramps" who served their nation and came back to no work, and the pain of families split by the children's evacuation in 1940. Through it all, Frank's values and generous spirit, both forged by the experiences of England's journey through the twentieth century, have been his guides to raise his family and look at life with an infectious optimism. Follow the Blacksmith's son whilst he plays as a child with the Duke of Kent's children on the beaches at Dover and cycles 150 miles in a day to visit an old school teacher in his later years-all stories told in Frank's matter-of-fact, open-hearted style.« less