Punk Arthur in 1976

King Arthur awakes and becomes a punk in this interesting sounding novel.

Glen's first novel puts King Arthur in 1976
Leamington Spa Today, UK -9 Oct 2008

What does Celtic King Arthur have in common with bell-bottoms, Harold Wilson and Starsky and Hutch?

Absolutely nothing. Which is exactly what makes Leamington man Glen Batchelor's first novel Waking Lloegr so unusual.

The story opens when Arthur awakes after 1,500 years to find himself in the middle of the striking, inflation-ridden, punk influenced Leamington of 1976.

Displeased to find Britain over-run by his enemy the Anglo-Saxons - now known as the English - Arthur is even more disappointed to discover that his beloved sword Excalibur has been melted down and transformed into an electric guitar.

The enraged king takes it upon himself to get rid of the one of the country's most popular bands, The Sex Pistols, and forms his own punk rock group so he once again is the ruler.

Mr Batchelor said: "They say everyone has a novel in them and so I wanted to fill mine with all my passions - Celt, punk, Leamington and Wales. Even my 1968 Puch M125 is in there."

The 46-year-old Lee Road resident began writing the novel in 2005. He said: "I have always been interested in ancient British history and King Arthur in particular. But so many novels about King Arthur have been done, so I decided to make mine humorous."

Mr Batchelor, who works as an electric meter reader, enjoys reading comedy books himself, naming two of his favourite authors as Malcolm Price and Jasper Fforde.

Although he was born in Deppers Bridge and spent his first 21 years there before moving to Leamington in 1983, his great-grandfather was Welsh, and he has felt a strong connection with Wales all his life. Waking Lloegr identifies some serious issues that he feels "quite passionate" about.

He explained: "Many of the Arthurian legends were originally written in Welsh and the language was used by most of the English for a long time. The idea is that, by the 70s, I figured it was time that this language was reinstated. I think the Welsh have been bullied by the English for many years and it's about time for the worm to turn."

Waking Lloegr is available to order at www.lulu.com or by contacting Mr Batchelor on 314609 or emailing glenbatchelor@btinternet.com