Firstly, apologies. Whilst I feel in the grand scheme of things here in scandal-awash Blighty, me having been utterly, lardily tardy in posting a blog update is small beer. (By the way, did you know that the phrase small beer refers to the very weak ale that women and children drank a couple of hundred years ago when beer was the staple all-day drink due to the nastiness of public water. You did? Let’s move on)
That said, I did promise to keep this here blog updated. But to be honest, my feet haven’t touched the ground, as my grandmother would say. Firstly I was off on the road promoting my new book Hope And Glory which I really hope that you may have had a look at. If you haven’t, well, I’ve explained the concept of it before so I won’t bore you again with the details, but it’s a travel book with a historical dimension, or maybe a history book with a travel element. Or maybe something different, a social and cultural wander through a century of British history and its town and cities. Anyway, people have been rather nice about it, and I’m rather proud of it. (Actually, some councillors in Accrington weren’t happy about my portrayal of the town on a bleak midweek afternoon. I’m sorry but I wrote what I saw. And the chapter was about the enduring and sorrowful legacy of the town’s losses at the Battle Of The Somme, not a tourist brochure. But sorry again if you were offended)
So my excuse then is that I’ve been out and about talking about, well, everything under the sun as that seems to be what the new book is about. I’ve had a lovely time doing this in a church hall in Cockermouth and a Quaker meeting hall in deepest Gloucestershire. I’ve strutted my stuff on the set of Noel Coward’s Hay Fever at the Theatre By The Lake and in the imposing town halls of Preston and Chester. In the Maltings Theatre In St Albans I mentioned Paul McCartney’s microphone malfunction at Live Aid there came a small audible groan from the rear of the auditorium. The very sound engineer responsible for said malfunction was in the audience. Later at the book signing, he said ‘did you really have to bring that up’ Whilst apologising, I did point out that the chances of this happening were fairly slight and thus I had not taken them into account.
I am taking the possibility of rain at the Latitude festival seriously. Hence the bag I am currently packing contains wellies, waterproofs and lots of clean socks. Assuming that the weather forecast is a little alarmist and that I can’t find a small dry patch to rest my Ipad on, I will blog again at some point this weekend. Thank you for your patience in this matter.
1. This competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is a resident of the UK or the Republic of Ireland, except for employees of The Random House Group Limited (the promoter, we, us), its group companies, families and any other company connected with the competition.
2. Entries must be received before midnight GMT of June 9th 2011. Entries that are illegible or received after this date will not be considered. Automated/bulk entries and entries from third parties will be disqualified. The promoter is not responsible for entries delayed or lost. Proof of entering is not proof of receipt of entry.
3. The competition will be judged by the promoter within 14 days of the closing date and the winner will be the person who has correctly identified the sentence as per the competition question, and entered their email address. The winner will be notified by email within 28 days of the closing date.
4. Competition prize is £500 worth of Lastminute.com vouchers. Winners must contact Ebury Publishing within one month of being notified to claim their prize.
5. Random House has the right to update these terms and conditions.
6. Events may occur that render the awarding of this prize impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the promoter and the promoter may, at its absolute discretion, vary, amend, suspend or withdraw the prize with or without notice.
7. Winners agree to the promoter’s use of their name, address and photograph in relation to the promoter’s publicity material.
8. Your personal details will be retained and used by the promoter in order to send you your prize. You will also receive newsletters from Random House by email. If you do not wish to hear from us in this way then please follow the “unsubscribe” link in any of the emails that you’ll receive.
9. The winners’ names will be available upon the promoter’s receipt of a stamped addressed envelope.
10. The promoter’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into in relation to the competition. No cash alternative will be offered.
11. The promoter’s contact details are: The Random House Group Limited, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA.
Hope and Glory celebrates our British history, not the history that is full of ancient Kings and endless dates but a history that’s about people like me and you.
I’ve chosen a event from every decade of the twentieth century; a moment in which something happened that changed our future. From the battle of the Somme to Live Aid, from the 66 world cup to the climbing of Everest.
Every day for 10 days starting May 31st I will be sharing a small piece of this story filmed from locations in the book and also giving you a special clue, once you have collected all these clues together it will form a question. If you enter this question in to the box below you will be in with a chance of winning a fantastic prize. Log on to the website or follow my Twitter link to find the clue each day.
We are giving away £500 worth of Lastminute.com vouchers so that you can you choose an experience that will create your own unique moment in your history.
Join me as I go in search of these big events in our history to see how they have shaped who we are as a nation today.
Once you have entered the competition, why not go on to the blog and write your own answer to the clues.
Good Luck.
Thursday 10th May 2012, 7pm
Waterstone’s LeedsTel: 0843 290 8443
Sunday 13th May, 11.45pm
Daphne Du Maurier Festival,
Tel: 01726 879 500
www.dumaurierfestival.co.uk
Saturday 19th May, 12 noon
Swindon Festival, Arts Centre, Devizes Road
Tel: 01793 614837
www.swindonfestivalofliterature.co.uk
Saturday 19th May, 7.30pm
QEH Theatre, Bristol
Tel: Stanfords Bristol 0117 9299966
www.stanfords.co.uk
Sunday 10th June, 5.30pm
Hay Festival
Tel:01497 822 629
www.hayfestival.com
Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th July
Latitude Festival, Suffolk
www.latitudefestival.co.uk
Other
- PBJ – Stuart’s agents
- Stuart’s Stories – Stuart explores hidden gems of England’s Northwest
It’s just under two weeks until Stuart’s new book Hope and Glory: The Days that Made Britain is published. At Ebury Publishing we are very excited and so we thought you’d all like to know where you can watch, hear and see Stuart in person talking about the book.
On 9th June get The Word magazine and watch The Wright Stuff on Channel FIVE. On Saturday 11th June listen to Loose Ends on Radio 4 and on Tuesday 21st June to Simon Mayo’s Drivetime Show on BBC Radio 2.
You can see Stuart talk, meet him and get your own signed copy of Hope and Glory in Liverpool, Nottingham, Preston, St Albans, The Yellow Lighted Festival in Gloucestershire, Chester Festival, Cockermouth Festival and Latitude Festival. For more details on all of these go to the events page.
Stuart Maconie has written the foreward to Rosemary Jarski’s grand collection of northern wit. Likely lads and lippy lasses cast a wry eye on subjects close to the heart of every northerner, including brass, grub, graft, courting, cricket, tittle-tattle and t’weather – adding up to a feast of northern hilarity.
Cider with Roadies is the story of a boy’s obsessive relationship with pop. A life lived through music from Stuart’s audience with the Beatles (aged 3); his confessions as a pubescent prog rocker; a youthful gymnastic dalliance with northern soul; the radical effects of punk on his politics, homework and trouser dimensions; playing in crap bands and failing to impress girls; writing for the NME by accident; living the sex, drugs (chiefly lager in a plastic glass) and rock and roll lifestyle; discovering the tawdry truth behind the glamour and knowing when to ditch it all for what really matters.
From Stuart’s four minutes in a leisure centre with MC Hammer to four days in a small van with Napalm Death it’s a life-affirming journey through the land where ordinary life and pop come together to make music.
Reviews
“The English Bill Bryson” – Tony Wilson
“The perfect pop fan’s life … effortlessly articulate” – Times
“Stuart Maconie is the best thing to come out of Wigan since the A58 to Bolton” – Peter Kay
“An heir to Alan Bennett … stirring and rather wonderful” – Antony Quinn, Sunday Times
“A working class boy who now, on air, challenges Stephen Fry’s spry wit, Maconie celebrates his younger self modestly and fluently, pausing only for regular rib-ticklers” – Mojo
A Northerner in exile, Stuart Maconie goes on a journey in search of the North, attempting to discover where the clichés end and the truth begins. He travels from Wigan Pier to Blackpool Tower and Newcastle’s Bigg Market to the Lake District to find his own Northern Soul, encountering along the way an exotic cast of chippy Scousers, pie-eating woollybacks, topless Geordies, mad-for-it Mancs, Yorkshire nationalists and brothers in southern exile.
The bestselling Pies and Prejudice is a hugely enjoyable journey around the north of England.
Reviews
“Stuart Maconie is the best thing to come out of Wigan since the A58 to Bolton” – Peter Kay
“An heir to Alan Bennett … stirring and rather wonderful” – Anthony Quinn, Sunday Times
“Funnier than Bill Bryson. There’s lots to love about Maconie’s North – even for Southern Jessies” – Metro
“Maconie makes a jovial, self-deprecating narrator. Sharp and funny.” – Guardian
“A lyrical, passionate, humorous and argumentative tour du force … Imagine Nick Danzinger meets Nik Cohen meets Ricky Tomlinson and you’ve got the perfect blend of humorously incisive northern-travel writing. An early contender for best travel book of the year.” – Big Issue North