Mockers

Mockers is a nostalgic love story that explores teenage passions and societal pressures in the sixties.

Although the story begins and concludes in late 2024, Mockers is a fictional novel set in North London and Hertfordshire, in post-war Britain between 1963 and 1966. It reflects a period when teenagers born in the 1940s and early 1950s felt separated from those who had been involved in the Second World War.

In the early 1960s, this disconnect led to the development of a counterculture, expressed in popular music, fashion, and rebellion. At the heart of that culture were two groups of teenagers: Mods and Rockers. The story centres around a love triangle between a young, ambitious girl, Judy, who falls in love with a Rocker, Jimmy, and then, after an interlude in Ireland, falls in love with a Mod, Terry.

Some very strong messages and issues of the time are highlighted, particularly relating to education, ambition, opportunities, society and female emancipation after the Second World War.

But essentially, it's about Mods and Rockers; two wheels, speed, testosterone, aggression, music and the fashion that connected young people experiencing freedom and rebellion. It marked an era that would dramatically shape the second half of the 20th century in the UK.

Will Grimsey is 73 years old, a keen motorcyclist for over 30 years, a fanatical Triumph enthusiast and in recent years has teamed up with old school mates to ride as much as possible in their retirement.

His career as a Retailer spanned 45 years until his retirement in 2012 at the age of 60. Throughout his career, he was known as Bill Grimsey. He became the Chief Executive of leading retail chains, including Park n Shop Supermarkets Hong Kong, Wickes plc, Iceland, Booker, and Focus Do-it-All. These appointments spanned a 20-year period. Before that, he was Tesco's first ever Customer Service Director and the Fresh Food Director of Budgens Supermarkets.

Upon retirement, he wrote a book called Sold Out: Who Really Killed the High Street", published in 2013.

This led to a ten-year period during which Bill led teams of experts in writing four High Street Reviews, which were presented to the Government and widely recognised by local authorities across the country as templates for strategic planning. Bill travelled the length and breadth of the UK, publicly speaking to assist local authorities in developing plans for the 21st Century.

He has recently decided to step back from advising on High Streets and enter a period of retirement to spend time on his passions, including motorcycling, travelling, skiing, and family. He has always been known as Will to his friends and family and, therefore, Bill has now been dropped in his retirement.

The inspiration for this story came when he and his biker mates saw "Bikeriders" starring Tom Hardy at the cinema.

Disappointed, by the portrayal of Hells Angels in the US as drug dealers, killers and basically thugs, Will commented to his mates that he would write a book about Mods and Rockers in the UK in the 60s, highlighting this creative period which shaped the beginning of radical cultural changes, led by a generation that wanted change following the war.