The broadcaster and writer on revisiting childhood for his nostalgic memoir, the genius of George Orwell, and his love of dancing
Melvyn Bragg’s memoir, Back in the Day, is a portrait of the town in which he grew up, Wigton in Cumbria. It describes his childhood as only son of Stan and Ethel, who ran the local pub, the Black-A-Moor. What is striking is how modestly marginal he makes himself, preferring to apply his formidable recall and affection to others. Bragg won a scholarship to Oxford, joined the BBC and went on to become one of our best-known broadcasters (presenter of In Our Time on Radio 4) and a life peer: Lord Bragg of Wigton.
You have a phenomenal memory – did you need to jog it to write this book?
Curiously enough, no. It was a small community and, by luck, we were in the middle of it. We were a very busy, popular and decent pub. I still get letters from Wigton – I had a good letter recently from a Wigton lad a little bit younger than me saying: why didn’t you write about this, that and the other? I could write half the book again with different people in it.
