Steamboat Barry

When Barry Stevenson, a retired British detective opened the Daily Mirror one morning, he nearly choked on his breakfast tea. He was reliably informed that he was the UK's oldest dad at the age of 76. Barry is kept on his toes by baby Barrito (now 15 months) and he lives with his beautiful Cuban wife, aged 36, in Mallorca. Steamboat Barry is his incredible story leading up to his retirement, written by a close friend and confidante. It depicts his remarkable rise through the ranks from a uniformed policeman on the beat in Leeds to his promotion to CID and later as the officer in charge of the regional crime squad. Filled with stories about his undercover operations from the upper CID ranks and his secondment via the Commonwealth Office to the Seychelles as Head of CID, this is a thoroughly entertaining read from start to finish. Despite the admission that he is 'nothing special', the author thinks that there was always something very special about this young man who studied mnemonics to build his excellent memory. This invaluable asset stood him in good stead as he spent his life chasing thieves, drug dealers, burglars and gangsters, for which he received a number of court and police commendations. At the tender age of 14, Barry was accepted into the Magic Circle and he later used his talent to stretch out his three-year RAF service pay by doing magic shows and to nail criminals. In 1968, one of the tricks he'd invented was nominated as the best trick of the year by film star, Lorne Greene, (best remembered from Bonanza), and he enjoyed a visit to the Magic Castle.