Reviews

'In Parallel' is a lovely book. It is filled with more nostalgia than a Hovis ad and is much better written. It brings back a South Yorkshire which sadly no longer exists and reminds us how much the poorer we are for its passing.The chapters on the author's life as a newspaperwoman in 'Donny' are a sheer delight to those of us who shared the experience. Old friends and acquaintances leap from the pages and I much prefer Barker's account of the way Parkinson left the 'Evening Post' to the version in his own autobiography.There is an old Yorkshire saying, 'If that owt for nowt, do it for thee sen'. Barker has done this all for us and we should be grateful for her. -- Ian Skidmore, author and broadcaster