The Long Long Dances — Eric Malpass

The madcap Pentecost family live in idyllic rural surroundings in a huge, ramshackle farmhouse: life is never dull at Cypresses Farm. From marital friction, to Derek Bates' motorbike and various careless visitors, the family cheerfully takes each new crisis in its stride. To add to the mayhem, Grandpa employs a new farm manager, with an eight-year-old daughter in tow. Then, out of the blue, elderly Aunt Dorothea turns up with her dashing but ageing French suitor. These hilarious stories of the outrageous Pentecost family, begun in Morning's at Seven, are full of eccentricity as well as an enormous zest for life.