It's 1978, and Jack Sheffield is beginning his second year as headmaster of a small village school in North Yorkshire, There are three letters on his desk - one makes him smile, one makes him sad and one is destined to change his life forever. This is from a nine-year-old Sebastian, suffering from leukaemia in the local hospital, who writes a heartbreaking letter addressed to 'Mister Teacher'. So begins a journey through the seasons of Yorkshire life in which the school is the natural centre of the community. 
 
Vera, the school secretary who worships Margaret Thatcher; Ruby, the twenty-stone caretaker who sings like Julie Andrews; Dorothy, the coffee shop assistant who is desperate to be Wonder Woman; all these, and many more colourful characters, accompany Jack through the ups and downs of the school year. Most of all, there is the lovely Beth Henderson, a teacher from a nearby school, who with her sister Laura presents Jack with an unexpected dilemma. 
 
 
(Paperback) good condition