Mike Harding (1) (1944–)

Less of an Anarchist's Almanac, more of a Dictionary a Disenchantment (but what sort of a book title would that have been?).

Mike Harding (Many people today will recognise the name, at least, as the chap who wrote the theme tune to Danger Mouse), ponders how ridiculous and pointless modern Society (c1981) is, much in the same vein as many comedians of the time did, including: Jasper Carrott and Billy Connolly (who also wrote a blurb for the back of the book jacket); all the while taking pot show more shots at his pet hates, being mainly disc jokeys, British Rail, and towns in the North of England.

Typical questions pondered within this book are of the type:

Why do drunks on buses always talk to me rather than anybody else?
Have you ever felt like laughing at a funeral?
Do you hate people who put overcoats on dogs?
Have you ever dreamed of murdering your boss?
Have you ever wanted to shout rude things in a public place?
Have you ever wished that God would come out into the open and own up?

Harding's solution is:

1 Find a good armchair
2 Rehurse the key phrases of your mantra 'It's all a load of old rubbish', 'They're all in it together';
3 Curl up in the foetal position
4 Expect the worse.

The rest of the book is in the form of a dictionary of Harding's gripes on life including, Air travel, Barnsley (English town), Critics, Dentists, Executives, Food fads, etc...
He even has his own Bible (a la 'Life of Brian') titled, The Books of Eric, which goes something like this:

In the beginning was the word, and the Word was Eric.
And there was all about a great nothingness, a void.
And along came Eric and he did cock it up. He took the earth that was above and the waters that were below and made of them mud. And that was the first day.
And there was still a great darkness over the face of the Earth and Eric cried, 'Let there be light!' And nothing happened. And Eric wandered round in the dark bumping into things... (There is a bit more, and it is kind of funny.)

Is Mike Harding still 'The funniest man in England' (according to Billy Connolly)?
I'm not sure.
Does the book still raise a few chuckles nearly 40 years later?
Yes, it sure does.
So, in hindsight Mike Harding probably is the funniest man in Britain (sporting a moustache, anyway). show less

Beautiful, mostly feminine angels without being atrociously 'girly' or trite. In fact, most of the pictures are just simply gorgeous, and make me want to look at them over and over again. I was incredibly amazed by the quality of the art.

I gave this book to my mother who has had several back surgeries and is very limited in what she can do. She loves them and is able to spend hours keeping her mind off of her inability to do much at all. This book offers a lot of beautiful pictures to show more view.

This book has exquisite pictures of angels which allow you to feel their energy as you view the pictures. Work of art which helps you feel connected to the divine. show less

A lovely little book full of photographs and descriptions of these grotesque creatures. Some are amusing and many are terrifying,and a couple are not gargoyles at all (naughty Mike Harding),but all are worth a look.

A short personal look at examples of 'green man' carvings found and photographed by the author in churches around the world. Harding postulates but does not explore the idea that the green man may be linked to the Knights Templar.