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Pierluigi Angelini, known as Peter in Scotland, was born in Villa Collemandina, Lucca,
Italy on 6 July 1940. Growing up in Italy during the war years food was scarce and
chestnuts were the main source of food. The Germans were occupying the area and it was
also a dangerous time. His mother had tuberculosis and was in a sanatorium before she
died when he was about thirteen. His father was in France working and was unable to
come back to Italy until after the war but then as work was scarce he emigrated to
Britain, leaving his son behind. He was raised mainly by his aunties and his paternal
grandmother.

When he was eighteen years old he came to Dumfries, Scotland to join his father, a
terrazzo worker. He quickly learned to speak English, having never known any English
words before. He was completely self taught. He had a variety of jobs, initially assisting
his father with his work. He then worked in the catering business working up from being
a kitchen boy to becoming a chef in charge of a hotel kitchen. He moved on to work for
many years with the Dumfries Council Roads Department.

On retiring he had more time to turn his energies to writing poetry in English and Italian
and printed a volume of poems, ‘Memories Kept Alive By Love’, to sell for the funds for
repairing a church hall, selling eight hundred copies mainly by his own efforts raising
£2,500. This spurred him on to become more prolific in his writing.

In 2008 he was nominated Dumfries Good Neighbour of the year with the highest number of nominations ever. This was for his help, advice and friendship to many people in Dumfries both young and old. The following year he was given the unique award of lnspirational Good Neighbour of the year for his poetry, particular mention being made of his poem Good Neighbours. In 2011 he recited three of his poems at a Garden Centre in Dumfries when Joanna Lumley unveiled the statue of Peter Pan, one was specially written for Joanna Lumley.

He gets requests to recite his poems in a variety of events and functions and regularly has
poems in church magazines, receives requests for special poems for weddings, births,
funerals, christenings, anniversaries, public houses and cafes. He has written poems for
the RAF club, police, Army and many more places. He has the honour of a poem hanging in the Globe Inn, a Tribute to Robert Burns. This was one of Robert Burns’ favourite drinking haunts and is now visited by Burns enthusiasts from around the world.

On Friday 4 October 2013 he read his poem, ‘Scotland’ at the launch of the Nation//Live
presentation at the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh and Peter features on the limited edition record, reading his poem alongside a musical arrangement by Bigg Taj and Wounded Knee. Peter lives with his wife Mary in Dumfries. He has two children, a girl and a boy, from a previous marriage and is a grandfather.

He hopes soon be able to publish his Italian poems as they have been for fifty five years
maturing in his heart, ready to be heard and be shared with the Italian community as he has never lost his love for Italy and its people.

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