Peering out from behind his curtained windows in his little house in Northern Ireland, Hugh Vaughan's childhood couldn't have been anything other than interesting. The hustle and bustle of life in his little corner of the world captivated the youngster, who like many of his era, learned the lessons than only such an experience could bring. Cups of tea, bread toasted by the fire, the mother's knitting and slaloms through the clothes line made it a typical Irish upbringing for Hugh, and he takes us delightfully through life's little journeys and a much simpler time in 'A Bump On The Road' (Stories of an Irish Childhood).

The innocent years before secondary school are recalled as are movies featuring John Wayne and cowboys and Indians in an era when parents did not hover over their children but allowed them to amuse themselves by playing with mates in the street.Family secrets were, at the threat of real physical harm, hushed by the stares of Hugh's mother, and then there was the day the Saracen armored cars roared down the crescent in which he lived.

Hugh Vaughan moved to Australia where he was able to contrast and compare life at home and abroad. A Bump On The Road is a wonderfully descriptive collection of short stories from Irish life of a bygone age while Vaughan is one of the most eloquent Irish writers to emerge in recent years.

Sample some of the stories - Run and Big Pol or purchase the book from the web sites on the left.