A FORMER stonemason has penned the second book on his life in the building trade following the publication of his first book in 2015.

Michael Lintern launched his new book, ‘What An Education’, in the foyer at Bradford-on-Avon Library on June 11. It covers his life from leaving school to retirement.

Fast-paced and full of incident, it describes the varied, often hard and dirty, tasks he was faced with, the accidents, the practical jokes and the camaraderie of life in the building trade.

Mr Lintern, now 80, left Combe Down Secondary Modern School at 15 to become a labourer in the building trade.

He was taught how to build dry stone walls by Christopher Pearce, of Norton St Philip, and has “lost count” of how many miles of walls he has built during his lifetime.

He said: “I just enjoyed what I was doing and it didn’t seem like work.”

Mr Lintern started work on the book three years ago before the Covid pandemic and rewrote it twice “because it was not how I liked it”.

Set in the Bath and Bradford-on-Avon limestone area, the book features his work on local estates at Iford, Farleigh Hungerford, and The Hall at Bradford.

He also worked on building repairs at the factories of Avon Rubber and Peradin and many individual properties in the area.

Mr Lintern spent 17.5 years working for Male & Marchant in Freshford, and then worked for Ron Simpson (three years), Michael Long in Bradford on Avon (16 years), and then went into self-employment for 21 years.

Throughout and above all, the book reflects the author’s craftsmanship, and his love of dry-stone walling and of the natural world.

Mr Lintern, who lives at St Aldhelm Road in Bradford on Avon, retired seven and a half years ago to spend more time with his wife Jane. The couple have three children, Richard, Catherine and Elizabeth, and two grandchildren, Chloe and Jack.

His first book, 'Privileged', was published in 2015 and described his childhood at Westwood and Freshford.

He sent a gift copy to the Queen in 2021 after the death of Prince Philip and received a ‘thank you’ message back from Buckingham Palace.

What An Education is available from the Ex Libris bookshop in The Shambles, Bradford on Avon, at £10 per copy.

It has 283 pages and 37 illustrations and has been published by Belcombe Books, of Bradford on Avon.