Lalla

Lalla Bond was a wild, untamed vagabond of a man who lived in the mining village of Annesley in Nottinghamshire. He was a stoutly, independent spirit whose lifestyle was total nonconformity. Lalla's bizarre lifestyle surprisingly included literature and music. Willie Pearson, a child of eight or so was almost a miniature edition of Lalla, a younger scarecrow. Based on segments of his own life from childhood until young manhood, our author Wilfrid A. Pearce (a.k.a. Stu Stevens) shares this story in his heart-warming memoir, "Lalla." Pearce relates how Lalla became a father figure to young Willie, and despite the age difference, they developed a lasting friendship. Lalla proved to be the most influential educational benefactor in Willie's rearing. An education instilled through word and mirrored deed; showing the importance of setting goals for himself as a man. After evaluating and using those goals in developing a tailored lifestyle, Willie would find a productive lifestyle suitable to feeding and fulfilling the needs of his own heart and spirit. A true rendering of two lives seemingly cut from the same mold, Lalla narrates how, with Lalla's guidance and influence, Willie found ways to make changes to the impositions life had forced on him. Lalla tells a story filled with both joy and the sadness as these two conflicting independent spirits meet and form a life-long father-son-like bond of love and friendship of the greatest respect.