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Loading... The Pie At Night: In Search of the North at Playby Stuart Maconie
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I'm a fan of Stuart Maconie, I bought a DAB radio when he moved to 6 Music. But in this one, he's not at his best. He's a self proclaimed northerner and this book is described as a companion piece to his earlier book, Pies and Prejudice: In search of the North. In that book he searches the country for where the North begins (Crewe, apparently), whereas in this he looks for what the people of the North do to have fun. I like the way he throws himself into the different activities, getting involved and getting close to the people attending, not just showing up at the top of the table clashes, but those at the grass roots level. He spends time talking to the people and understanding their passions. That he does really well. All well and good. But it falls a little flat, for me, in that I'm not sure I see many of the occupations as, now, being distinctively northern. There was also a bit of an anti southern chip that seemed more evident in this book than I have noticed previously. Not enough to make it unenjoyable, but enough to take the edge off. no reviews | add a review
Factory, mine and mill. Industry, toil and grime. Its manufacturing roots mean we still see the North of England as a hardworking place. But, more than possibly anywhere else, the North has always known how to get dressed up, take itself out on the town and have a good time. After all, working and playing hard is its specialty, and Stuart Maconie is in search of what, exactly, this entails what it tells us about the North today. Following tip offs and rumour, Stuart takes trip to forgotten corners and locals' haunts. From the tapas bars of Halifax to the caravan parks of Berwick Upon Tweed, from a Westhoughton bowling green to Manchester's curry mile, via dog tracks and art galleries, dance floors and high fells, Stuart compares the new and old North, with some surprising results. The Pie at Night could be seen as a companion to the bestselling Pies and Prejudice, but it is not a sequel. After all, this is a new decade and the North is changing faster than ever. This is a revealing and digressive journey and a State of the North address, delivered from barstool, terrace, dress circle and hillside. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)942.708612History and Geography Europe England and Wales Northwest England and Isle of ManRatingAverage:
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Using the best intelligence that he can get, Maconie travels round the north, revisiting the classic haunts of leisure from Blackpool to the dogs, football and rugby of course. Any day off is enhanced by going out for a curry before walking it all off with a stroll across the moors. He hears a brass band, before trying something out of the ordinary and after all that needs a restorative pint.
This is another good book and kind of a companion book to The Pie at Night by Maconie as he travels back and forwards across the North finding out what they do in their leisure time. It is not particularly challenging to read, mostly as he writes in such an easy going and chatty way. That does not mean that he is not perceptive and it is laugh out loud in places too, as he has a knack of getting to the spirit of the event he is partaking in whilst not taking it too seriously. Another one of his that was worth reading. ( )