Parks and Gardens by Myles Holland is an autobiographical account of a young man's experiences in London in the eighties and nineties, principally as a Park Keeper at Avondale Park in west London. London parks are unique and unusual places and the author's account is an insightful and compelling story, in different measures funny, sad and poignant, and always well observed and wholly authentic. Parks and Gardens taps into the power and intrigue that London parks exert over the psyche of some people. The Author touches on the history of their development particularly Avondale Park, and this is all set against the broader context of a young, working class man living and working in the London of that time. The social history and observation is quite fascinating and very redolent of the colour and make-up of London life in all its glory during those decades. Avondale Park proves to be a microcosm of human life, a melting pot of the good, the bad and the ugly. Parks and Gardens is an intriguing and unusual account and as a piece of recent social history, should be recommended reading for all school children.
