by Chris Ratcliffe

• May 1968, student revolt and taking over the University
• May 1968, and the barricades of Paris
• Leaving home, friends and a good job
• Busted in Bognor
• Finding myself in Barcelona
• Roadie and Manager of The Crowd, backing The Who, their session with Joe Meek
• The Summer of Love
• Creating Ginger - one of the earliest alternative mags
• Becoming the only person from my 1000+ school, or my family, to find a way to University
• Friends and lovers
• My teenage diary - excerpts
• 1960s Books that changed the world
• Banned from the campus - the High Court and Court of Appeal
• Forgotten Black Dwarf article - who wrote that?
• Coming next: the 1970s

Read how, in 1965, Chris Ratcliffe left his good secure job as a clerk in the City, at 19 managed a rock group, ran a club, got busted in Bognor, hitchhiked in Europe, met students for the first time, against the odds got to university, the Summer of Love in the Mediterranean sun, created Ginger, a pioneering alternative student newspaper, fought in the Battle of Grosvenor Square, helped create the Free University of Essex (May 1968), helped build barricades on the riotous streets of Paris (May 1968), and appeared at the Court of Appeal in front of three Lord Justices to try and stop the University banning him from the campus.

For over 30 years, Chris Ratcliffe, as a partner in Pennine Pens, has been publishing books by other writers. Now, here's one of his own, snapshots from the 1960s, to be followed by his adventures in the 1970s.

120 pages. Pennine Pens. £5.95

---

What they've said, so far

• "I love this book, small book: big content! Such interesting reading, full of youth, it captures the spirit and energy of these crucial years."
• "I  loved the book! Brought back so many memories for me of those wonderful carefree times."
• "Really well written and really interesting. I highly recommend it."
• "I really enjoyed reading your book, that Paris episode was very dramatic"
• "I'm loving the book!"
• "Each episode has its own distinctive flavour. Through precise details of time, place, and purpose, you very skilfully evoke the atmosphere of the 1960s. The vivid memories you share have meaning for all of us who lived through that life-changing decade."