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Paul Genny has led an interesting life. Although a barrister now, he's recently taken up writing and his first novel, 'Pleading Guilty' has just been published. Early on in his career he spent a considerable amount of time as a dentist in his native Grimsby, where he grew up.

The picture he brought into our studios is something he picked up at an antique shop for 50p. The origins of the picture are unclear, as also is the nature of the image. It seems to have the appearance of an old black and white photograph which looks to have been painted over. It also appears to show an auction on the old pontoon on the Grimsby fish market. There are numerous boxes or 'kits' of cod. Paul suggests that this would have been a silent auction. No-one would speak their bids, but raise their hands or gesticulate to bid. The reason this particular picture holds so much interest for Paul, is that his father was a shipwright who worked very close to the pontoon shown in the picture. He worked in the graving dock and doigs.

Coloured photo of Grimsby fish market.

Conditions were not ideal for those fish workers. Paul said:"It used to be freezing out here, opposite the pontoons was the North Wall also, known as 'pneumonia jetty', it was so cold. They used to do the filleting and landing on there and they used to have a bucket of hot water beside them, and every now and then you would dip your hand in to the hot water or you'd drop your filleting knife. These were cold, hard days, but they were good days". He would often go with his father to work and soak up the atmosphere surrounding the hustle and bustle of the fishing business.

Paul recalls with affection that most of his family had fishing connections. He's almost certain one of the men in the picture is his uncle, 'Chiddy' Barwood; a skate merchant.

Speaking about his writing, Paul says he sat down to write, 'Pleading Guilty' his first novel, after the death of his wife of more than forty years. It took him six weeks to write, but three years to re-write.

He's particularly proud of the fact that at a recent local book launch, all the copies of the book were sold. It's a fictional story, which draws on his life as a barrister and he claims it will describe what really happens in the legal profession. He tallks about the feelings surrounding a criminal case. He said: "You fight, it's a contest. You ask questions of the other person's witness, they ask questions of yours. You fight it out, almost in an arena before an audience, that's the jury. It's a fascinating process, but occasionally that can be avoided because it causes trauma to witnesses".