"The Extraordinary journey of an ordinary life"
✍️ Writing Lyfe and Tymes: A Journey Through Memory, Emotion, and the Woods
When I first sat down on 25 October 2025 to begin writing Lyfe and Tymes, I had no idea how much of myself I was about to pour onto the page. I knew the stories. I’d lived them. But turning a lifetime into a book is something else entirely. It’s like walking back through every version of yourself — the boy, the soldier, the detective, the tracker, the husband — and deciding which memories to hold gently and which to let speak for themselves.
By the time I typed the final words on 17 February 2026, I’d been through countless drafts, rewrites, and emotional detours. And when the book finally reached the world on 3 March 2026, it felt less like releasing a manuscript and more like releasing a breath I’d been holding for decades.
📘 A Short Description of the Book
Lyfe and Tymes is a memoir of movement — through places, careers, landscapes, and identities. From school days in Portsmouth to the Army, from CID investigations to wildlife tracking in Africa, from narrowboat life to a mill hidden in a French nature reserve, it’s a story about resilience, reinvention, and the wild, unpredictable paths that shape a life.
🔄 Many Drafts, One Truth
The writing itself came surprisingly easily once I found the rhythm. Memory has a way of waking up when you give it permission. But I didn’t want to describe everything. Some moments were simply too emotional, too heavy, too raw. I didn’t want to put that much pain on the page — not because it wasn’t real, but because not every wound needs to be reopened to be understood.
So I wrote what mattered. What shaped me. What still echoes.
🎒 School, Army Life, and Becoming a PTI
The early chapters trace the journey from school into the Army, where discipline, camaraderie, and a fair bit of mischief set the tone for the years ahead. Becoming a Physical Training Instructor was a turning point — a role that demanded both strength and empathy, and one that taught me how far people can go when someone believes in them.
👮♂️ Uniform, CID, and the Fraud Squad
From uniformed policing to CID, the book follows the long road through investigations, training, and leadership.
These chapters aren’t just about crime and procedure — they’re about people, pressure, responsibility, and the strange mix of grit and humour that keeps you going in the job.
🚤 Life on the Narrowboat & the COVID Years
There’s a quieter thread running through the book too: the narrowboat years. The stillness of the water. The simplicity. The way COVID reshaped everything — slowing life down, sharpening priorities, and pushing me back toward nature in a way I didn’t expect.
🐾 Learning to Track Wildlife
Tracking began as curiosity and quickly became a calling.
Those chapters carry the scent of pine, the hush of early mornings, and the thrill of reading the land like a story.
🌍 Tracking in South Africa and Namibia
Africa changed me.
Tracking in South Africa and Namibia brought everything into sharper focus — the wildlife, the landscapes, the fragility of ecosystems, and the privilege of learning from people who live in deep relationship with the land.
🔥 Becoming a Director & Training Fire Investigators
Life took another unexpected turn when I became a director and helped set up training for fire investigators. Another reinvention. Another chapter. Another reminder that careers aren’t straight lines — they’re rivers, bending and branching as they go.
🌲 Meeting Hannah & The Mill in the Woods
And then there’s the heart of the story: meeting Hannah in the forest.
Two people crossing paths in the woods, both shaped by nature in different ways, both carrying their own histories, both ready for something new.
Our life together — especially our mill tucked away in a French nature reserve — feels like the quiet epilogue to a very loud, very full life. A place where the woods breathe around us, where the past feels settled, and where the future feels wide open.
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Amazon book description
Lyfe and Tymes – a memoir is the rollicking, heartfelt, and often hilarious journey of Pablo Mayne—a boy who grew up in post-war Portsmouth with a head full of dreams, a pocketful of Marmite sandwiches, and a knack for finding adventure (and the occasional mishap) wherever he went.
From the wilds of English woodlands to the parade grounds of the British Army, Pablo’s story is a patchwork of childhood escapades, family quirks, sporting triumphs, and the odd brush with disaster. Along the way, he learns the value of resilience, the joy of nature, and the importance of laughing at oneself—especially when things go spectacularly sideways.
With a cast of colourful characters—fearless parents, loyal dogs, eccentric friends, and a few memorable “FWits”—Pablo’s memoir is as much about the people who shaped him as it is about his own adventures. Whether he’s building go-carts, singing in the cathedral choir, tracking lions in Africa, or simply trying to make sense of life’s twists and turns, Pablo invites readers to join him for a pint (or a mug of tea), a story, and a reminder that life is best lived with curiosity, courage, and a healthy sense of humour.
Perfect for anyone who believes that the best stories are found in the everyday, Lyfe and Tymes is a celebration of family, friendship, and the extraordinary journey of an ordinary life. Settle in, turn the page, and prepare to track the past—one memory, one mishap, and one Marmite sandwich at a time.
🧭 Looking Back
Writing Lyfe and Tymes wasn’t just about recording events. It was about honouring them.
The easy ones.
The hard ones.
The ones that still make me laugh.
And the ones I chose not to write down.
It’s a book about movement, memory, and meaning — and about the strange, beautiful way life keeps offering new chapters long after you think the story is set.
