David Foot, alias Matthew Fouracre, joined the Western Gazette in Yeovil as a copy boy in 1946. This book recounts his story, growing up in the beautiful Somerset countryside and embarking on a new career at a time of great political and social change, as Britain struggled to get back on its feet after six years of war. The book covers the first two years of Matthew's professional life, in which he makes the grade as a reporter, cycling hundreds of miles on his three-speed racer to cover stories on practically every aspect of rural life including, with some foresight, an interview with a future prime minister.