Lisa Talbott

A Patch of Yellow Lisa Talbott

Billy was around four years old when he and his baby sister, Marley, were dumped in the barn of a middle-aged, childless, Welsh sheep farming couple, at the end of the Second World War. A traumatised little boy who didn't even know he had a surname, who'd never seen stars at nighttime, nor ever known the meaning of a mother's love.




Emma and Ted could never have anticipated their farming lives being turned upside down as much, yet felt blessed at the opportunity to become the parents they'd always hoped to be, but was the abandonment of these innocents the result of trying to hide an unthinkable secret?




As the 'foundlings' grew up, they could not have been more opposite. Marley was hell-bent on becoming a vet, wanting to save every animal on the planet, whilst Billy was dithering about becoming a ballet dancer, or a boxer.

Ivan, the hired farm hand and war hero, became Billy's mentor and best friend. He understood his persona and through his love and nurturing, Billy flourished into becoming a 'somebody'.




What maketh a man? Is it nature, or is it nurture?