The Life and Times of a Scallywag is an autobiography by the flamboyant Sidney (Siddy) James Carter.
It tells of his exploits as a child on the streets and in the fields of the infamous Cray area of north Kent, through his brief school years and onto his chosen profession, one of the most notorious cat burglars in Britain.
The book is brilliantly funny, heartbreakingly sad in places and features some colourful characters from The Crays and surrounding areas. His family features of course, through the good times and bad. This book is also somewhat of a history lesson of what life was like in the Crays during the 40's, 50's and 60's.
Young Steak and Kidney (Sidney) went from skint to having so much money he didn't know what to do with it, but he learnt very quickly. His nickname around the Crays was "Champagne Sid", when he drank, everybody drank, life was one long party.
Ultimately he got his collar felt, more than once, but his tales of escape and evasion will bring a smile to your face.
It is written in the style of Sid himself, plenty of Cockney Slang and plenty of local dialect spoken by the travelling community. You will have to look past the odd grammatical error as well.
Enjoy.